Chapter Four
Infiltration
Weeks had passed since Akin, Gerard, and Lana had decided to depart from the Returners hideout. After securing passage on the Emperor's personal ship on a voyage that the Emperor would be traveling on, Lana, Akin, and Gerard had prepared themselves for the worst. But so far, everything had been easy. They had snuck down through a grating and found themselves in a restricted lab. Outside the door they could hear the guards chatting, so they were as quiet as possible. They knew the lab belonged to Cid, a scientific genius. They also knew that in the lab, rumor had it, there was a specimen being transported to the outskirts of the rubble of Doma castle. They had made up their minds to destroy the specimen. Gerard had left the lab through the intricate furnace system to assassinate the emperor. Akin had crawled through the grating to assassinate General Leo. That left Lana with the task of destroying the specimen. But there was no specimen to be found. Lana searched the room high and low, but found nothing.
"Maybe there's something in the desk." She whispered to herself, and began to rummage through the drawers. That was when she found it. A wrinkled, faded sheet of paper labeled 'TOP SECRET'. She looked it over. The handwriting was difficult to read, but she could make out the words 'Element of Earth'. Lana pondered that for a moment, then let the paper fall to the floor, to turn back to her searching. The paper hit the ground with a clatter. After waiting to see if the sound had been heard and confirming that it had not, Lana picked up the paper to see what had made the noise. On the back of the paper was taped a key with a tag that bore the words 'Backup'
Lana raised an eyebrow, and pocketed the key, continuing her search. She was not going to give up, though a lesser person might have. She wondered how long it would be till Gerard finished his task, the most important one. It was likely niether she, Gerard, or Akin would make it out alive, but the three had decided doing nothing was just as bad as fighting for the empire. So here they were, and Lana knew that time was of the essence.
Suddenly, she heard a noise, a beeping sound coming from inside the room. "What's that?" Lana heard one of the guards outside of the lab say.
"Nothing. Just the specimen's machine case.......Thingy!" The guard replied. He seemed to think this was funny and he and his companion roared with laughter. A relieved Lana tried to follow the noise. It came from a cabnet. A locked cabnet. Lana withdrew the key from her pocket. The cabnet swung open and Lana nearly gasped. The cabnet that, from the outside, appeared to be old and rickety, was really holding a giant test tube with a person inside. It was a woman. She was naked, her hair short and jet black. She appeared to be sleeping. Cords and tubes were connected to the base of the tube and they ran to several large tanks of glowing fluid. Lana's mouth dropped open, and she stood staring at the woman for several moments in amazement.
She stood there for several minutes when suddenly she heard one of the guards outside the door crying out. There were shouts and Lana realized that at least one of the deeds had been done. She had no time, yet she knew not what to do. As a last resort she drew her knife and stabbed at the base controls of the tube. There was a shock that cascaded through her arm, and she drew back. There had been little affect. She turned and saw Akin crawling out of the furnace duct. Lana bit her lip and shoved the knife back down into the control panel. A shock ran through her arm and she screamed.
Akin, surprised to hear a scream coming from Lana, rushed forward to see what had happened. Lana lay on the floor and Akin bent to examine her. She had, apparently, been electrocuted and was now dead. Akin looked at the test tube in front of him. There was a woman in it, and she was moving, as if she was only now awakening. It appeared that Lana had shut off something when she had shoved her knife into the control panel. Akin frowned. He had failed at his task and gereral Leo was still alive. He wondered if Gerard had done better; he hoped so. But he had now time to think of Gerard. The specimen in this test tube, beautiful though she was, had to be destroyed. Akin threw his body against the side of the cabnet and it toppled, taking the test tube with it. Akin picked himself off the floor, chuckling to think that the empire had been so careless. He would of expected more care to be taken over such a thing, unless it was of little importance. He bent down and looked at the test tube that lay on it's side. The woman was moving.
The woman threw her arms out and the test tube exploded, sending Akin backwards. He landed on the ground, hitting his head. Pain shot through him and in an instant, he was dead.
Infiltration
Weeks had passed since Akin, Gerard, and Lana had decided to depart from the Returners hideout. After securing passage on the Emperor's personal ship on a voyage that the Emperor would be traveling on, Lana, Akin, and Gerard had prepared themselves for the worst. But so far, everything had been easy. They had snuck down through a grating and found themselves in a restricted lab. Outside the door they could hear the guards chatting, so they were as quiet as possible. They knew the lab belonged to Cid, a scientific genius. They also knew that in the lab, rumor had it, there was a specimen being transported to the outskirts of the rubble of Doma castle. They had made up their minds to destroy the specimen. Gerard had left the lab through the intricate furnace system to assassinate the emperor. Akin had crawled through the grating to assassinate General Leo. That left Lana with the task of destroying the specimen. But there was no specimen to be found. Lana searched the room high and low, but found nothing.
"Maybe there's something in the desk." She whispered to herself, and began to rummage through the drawers. That was when she found it. A wrinkled, faded sheet of paper labeled 'TOP SECRET'. She looked it over. The handwriting was difficult to read, but she could make out the words 'Element of Earth'. Lana pondered that for a moment, then let the paper fall to the floor, to turn back to her searching. The paper hit the ground with a clatter. After waiting to see if the sound had been heard and confirming that it had not, Lana picked up the paper to see what had made the noise. On the back of the paper was taped a key with a tag that bore the words 'Backup'
Lana raised an eyebrow, and pocketed the key, continuing her search. She was not going to give up, though a lesser person might have. She wondered how long it would be till Gerard finished his task, the most important one. It was likely niether she, Gerard, or Akin would make it out alive, but the three had decided doing nothing was just as bad as fighting for the empire. So here they were, and Lana knew that time was of the essence.
Suddenly, she heard a noise, a beeping sound coming from inside the room. "What's that?" Lana heard one of the guards outside of the lab say.
"Nothing. Just the specimen's machine case.......Thingy!" The guard replied. He seemed to think this was funny and he and his companion roared with laughter. A relieved Lana tried to follow the noise. It came from a cabnet. A locked cabnet. Lana withdrew the key from her pocket. The cabnet swung open and Lana nearly gasped. The cabnet that, from the outside, appeared to be old and rickety, was really holding a giant test tube with a person inside. It was a woman. She was naked, her hair short and jet black. She appeared to be sleeping. Cords and tubes were connected to the base of the tube and they ran to several large tanks of glowing fluid. Lana's mouth dropped open, and she stood staring at the woman for several moments in amazement.
She stood there for several minutes when suddenly she heard one of the guards outside the door crying out. There were shouts and Lana realized that at least one of the deeds had been done. She had no time, yet she knew not what to do. As a last resort she drew her knife and stabbed at the base controls of the tube. There was a shock that cascaded through her arm, and she drew back. There had been little affect. She turned and saw Akin crawling out of the furnace duct. Lana bit her lip and shoved the knife back down into the control panel. A shock ran through her arm and she screamed.
Akin, surprised to hear a scream coming from Lana, rushed forward to see what had happened. Lana lay on the floor and Akin bent to examine her. She had, apparently, been electrocuted and was now dead. Akin looked at the test tube in front of him. There was a woman in it, and she was moving, as if she was only now awakening. It appeared that Lana had shut off something when she had shoved her knife into the control panel. Akin frowned. He had failed at his task and gereral Leo was still alive. He wondered if Gerard had done better; he hoped so. But he had now time to think of Gerard. The specimen in this test tube, beautiful though she was, had to be destroyed. Akin threw his body against the side of the cabnet and it toppled, taking the test tube with it. Akin picked himself off the floor, chuckling to think that the empire had been so careless. He would of expected more care to be taken over such a thing, unless it was of little importance. He bent down and looked at the test tube that lay on it's side. The woman was moving.
The woman threw her arms out and the test tube exploded, sending Akin backwards. He landed on the ground, hitting his head. Pain shot through him and in an instant, he was dead.