VIRTUAL BREEZE : DOWNLOAD
Zion, the last refuge of humankind, an island of hope in a sea of despair. The people of Zion go about their daily business; working and building, Counsellor Seth paces back and forth in the deserted counsel chamber, each step echoing from the brown earth walls. Small groups of people begin to filter through the chamber doors, each seemingly unaware of the news that Seth is to tell. "Come along now people, we don't have all day" Seth beckons to the crowd "I have immensely important news that the counsel has asked me to bring to your attention" the crowd falls silent to receive the counsellors words. "The counsel has decided that the time has come for Zion's most ambitious operation as of yet" Seth resumes his tireless pacing, "We are to partake in a mass unplugging operation involving candidates who have been pre-selected and located, these candidates include possible potentials and people who have become aware of the Matrix on some kind of level". The crowd suddenly becomes restless as many people try to speak at once, "please calm down! One at a time, I said one at a time!" Shouts Seth above the confusion.
Captain Orison rises from his seat to speak, "Counsellor, there have been many rumours flying around about this operation for the last few weeks, I suppose that the biggest rumour is that most of the Zion fleet will be in action for this operation, is this true?" Seth cracks a smile "It appears that your source is well informed Captain, but it is not just the majority of the fleet that will be involved, the Zion mech division will also take part" The crowd once again becomes unsettled but soon regains its composure, Seth resumes his briefing, still pacing the length of the chamber as he speaks "Now before I continue, could I please ask you to remain silent till I have fully explained what else the operation entails" Seth pauses for a moment "Good, then I will proceed. The majority of the candidates who are to be unplugged are located on the south east tower in the wasteland power plant, we estimate that the sentinel activity is high, but they don't usually interfere unless a pod is unplugged, this means that we will have to unplug as many people simultaneously as possible, from there we will need to work fast to clear the rest out of the matrix" Seth pauses, the crowd is silent "We need at least 5 ships, any volunteers?".
Another day in Zion begins, lights flicker to life as the generators kick in, corridors light up section by section, light reflects from the metal pipes and walls. The five volunteer captains make their way down the Zion dock passageway, each troubled by the task they are about to undertake. The Nephitis, Scanori, Thendorine, Rekanu and Phalanx hoverships await their crew as they are loaded up with mechs, two to each ship, enough to stay a sentinel attack for at least a while. Captain Orison sighs "This is it gentlemen, no turning back from here, we have sworn to carry out this task to the best of our abilities, we will stare death in the eyes and then poke em out!!!" The other captains laugh "I guess there is nothing more to say" the smiles fade from the captains faces before they shout in unison "FOR ZION!!!" the Captains leave to join their crew, a large crowd has gathered above the docks on the connecting bridge, the captains and their crew shove their fists in the air, the crowd goes wild, cheering for the brave souls who have undertaken this task. Counselor Seth steps forward and addresses the crews, each lined up outside their ships "Godspeed, the people of Zion will be with you all the way" With the close of that statement the crew board their ships, the hydrolic ramps closing noisily behind them.
Orison, the desegnated fleet leader, addresses the Captains before they leave the dock one last time "Yamuke, Herame, Shaman, Uruan, lets all come back in one piece". The Zion dock gates begin to close as the last ship departs, the gates slam together as the last ship vanishes into the darkness.
The five hoverships emerge from the maintenance sewers one by one, each shining like blue fireflies aginst the dark ground and sky, the Nephitis communication screen crackles to life, "This is Yamuke of the Phalanx, we are closing in on the west power plant towers, what is out courese of action", "Orison here, according to your position there should be a drainage trench running from the base of the towers for about three miles, take up position there and have your mech's on standby". Orison swivels his seat back around as he takes control of the Nephitis again, "Trip, you can head back to the core now, check up on Tersa, make sure she's got our entry posistion hacked" Trip acknowledges with a nod before exiting the thingypit via the ladder.
The hoverships break their formation and head for their positions. The Nephitis takes up position near the east tower, just out of range of detection, Orison checks up on the other ships as he gently set's the Nephitis down "What's our status people", the communication screen crackles to life once more "Phalanx, in position.....Scanori, ready for action.....Rekanu, no problem's.....Thendorine, all systems go". Orison sighs as he heads to the core of the Nephitis "Something on you mind captain?" asks Tersa as she concentrates on the lines of falling code, "Everything is on my mind Tersa, the lives of those we are to free are now in our hands, we have everything to loose" Orison sighs again "Make sure Kersh and Orata are on standby in the mechs, we dont wanna be left defenseless. Trip, wake Evrae up, its time."
Trip runs to the sleeping quarters and wakes Evrae up with a hard kick to a bucket on the floor, shocked awake, Evrae promptly punches Trip in the arm "Hey! I was getting some good sleep then dude!!".
Orison confers with the other ships one last time before he and the others jack in, "Ok, so we have got Scanori on emergency support and defence....the Phalanx is on pickup and defence so that leaves us, the Rekanu and the Thendorine to jack in" simultaneous replys of "Roger!" echo through the communication speakers. "Good, its all set then, Trip, Evrae, lets go!".
The Shanely east block prison, home to 5000 convicts, 50 on death row, only one to be freed. A figure in a long black leather trenchcoat walks up to the reception desk, staffed entirely by security guards, each packing semi- automatic pistols and bullet proof vests.
"Sorry sir but visiting time is over, and we have a government inspection due any minute now" drones the extremely overweight guard sitting by the desk, the man steps into the light shining from the reception sign, "who said I was here to visit?" chuckles the man as he draws a glock from his trenchcoat, the guards barely have time to react as their bullet proof vests are ripped apart by teflon tipped, armour piercing bullets. The man takes a mobile phone from his pocket, "Trip, I want you to keep a lookout at the gates, Evrae, follow me in, this could get messy", "sure capn'" crackles the phone, its signal partially broken by the powerlines gracing the prison courtyard. Evrae speedily runs to meet Orison inside, "Capn', I just intercepted radio transmission from further inside the prison, sounds like they've broken out the heavy artillery and are setting up a barricade, they're ready for us" Orison smirks, "well i guess we are gonna have to break out our own heavy artillery eh". Orison removes his trenchcoat to reveal a M16 and a grenade launcher strapped to his back, he grabs the grenade launcher and loads it as they proceed down the corridor to the barricade, they reach the door, the sound of the chaotic loading of guns echoing from behind it. "Evrae, lets give em hell!!".
The guards crouch nervously behind the barricade, their guns trained on the door, suddenly a 'kerflump!' sound is heard from behind the door, a shuddering guards asks "what the hell was that...", the sound of someone running breaks the guards concentration, "RAAAAAGGHHHH!!" Orison bursts through the doors so strongly that they fly off their hinges, splinters of wood spiraling through the air, before the doors can even hit the ground, Orison fires his grenade launcher directly at the base of the barricade, a guard screams "OH SHI..!!", the round detonates sending the guards arching through the air, a stray limb floats upwards while the tables and chairs that formed the barricade evaporate in a torrent of flame and shrapnel. Silence once again dominates the corridors, only the faint confused cries of the prisoners can be heard, "take point Evrae, i need a little time to catch my breath, the grenade rounds that Tersa uploaded were way stronger than I expected". Evrae nods and continues ahead, the sound of his footsteps echoing down the corridor, the main holding cells only a few meter's away.
MEANWHILE.......
"come on dammit move move move!!" Captain Uruan bellows as he leads a small group of five from a sewer hideout. Uruan places his mobile by the side fo his head as he walks "Keno! gimme some good news here, please tell me that you have located that last group of potentials!"
Keno replies confidently "Hey no problem! Ive located them! They were hiding in the station ventilation ducts!" Keno wipes the blood from his sunglasses as he places his phone in his pocket, a gang of street thugs littering the floor, Keno directs the potentials around the corpses "dont look kids, just keep moving, just keep moving, uncle Keno is gonna take care of ya" Uruan picks up his phone once more, a gruff voice answers "Operator", Uruan takes a deep breath and begins to speak "Loopa, i want you to keep me updated on any potential hostile movement in this area, the last thing I want is a S.W.A.T. team massacaring my group" Loopa nervously replies "Uh...sir, i dont know about S.W.A.T. but I just detected an Agent heading your way, five meters ahead and closing!"
"Loopa give me some options here!" Loopa franticly searches for blueprints and plans of the sewer system, "there should be an old maintenance hatch to you left, it heads straight to Keno rendezvous point!" Uruan turns to face his group, the look of fear in their eyes piercing Uruan's soul "Ok, i want you all to take this passage" he shoots the lock on the door and kicks it open "I want you to run, never stop, never look back" a voice from the back of the group rises above the commmotion of the group "what about you?", Uruan smiles "I dont matter, your safety is what matters" the splish splosh of footsteps through water echoes in Uruans ears "GO, NOW!". Uruan closes the door as the last of the group pass through, he stands alone in the dim service light of the sewer. Uruan draws his semi-automatics and trains them on the bend in the sewer ahead, awaiting the cold uncompromising stride of the Agent. The semi-automatics fire and a hail of bullets storms through the stagnant sewer air, the Agent blurs as he weaves between each bullet, Uruan gasps "dammit!". the Agent draws his Desert Eagle, its shadow framed on the wall by a blinking service light above, a single shot is fired and it hits directly in Uruan's stomach, he falls to the floor and cries out in pain. The Agent silently walks over to Uruan and aims at his head "Hey, buttwipe!" the sudden confident insult distracts the Agent for a moment and a moment is all Uruan needs "suck on this!" Uruan produces a grenade form his jacket, the pin taken out, the catch released. Uruan's group, still running, suddenly freeze as a large boom echoes from behind them, dust and loose brickwork shake loose from the tremor, one of then shouts "come on! we gatta keep moving, just like he said" the group continues towards the rendezvous point, refusing to look back.
Loopa cradles his head in his hands, Uruans monitor droning with a flatline signal, Loopa regains his composure as he cover Uruans corpse with a sheet as a sign of respect "Rest in peace captain, we will never give up" Loopa wipes a stray tear from his eyes as a contact signal beeps in his headpiece "Operator".
"Loopa, its Keno, Uruans group have just arrived but I dont see any sign of Uraun" Loopa sighs into his headpiece "Uruan is dead, his group was ambushed by an Agent, he got them into the passageway before he blew the Agent and himself to bits". Keno's eyes widen with disbelief "Oh my god! No, DAMMIT!!" he makes a hole in the wall with his fist, "Ok, ok, right we are gonna proceed as planned, Ive got both groups in the safe house and they are ready to jack out, all we need is confirmation from Uruan's group and Herame's group." Loopa tries to locate Herame's group in the code. "Dammit, where the hell are they? Im gonna try and raise a signal from the Thendorine" Loopa scans the monitors as his fingers blur over the keyboard, suddenly he stops, his eyes widen and his jaw drops, Keno becomes concerned "Loopa? whats wrong?"
"It's gone....my god its gone, the Thendorine, its completely destroyed!" Keno curses uncontrollably at the news, a child in his group begins to cry, her tears cascading to the floor "How the hell did it happen!? No-one heard a blast? Loopa, you've gatta tell the guys outside in the mechs!", Loopa takes a flashlight from a storage compartment as he runs to the Rekanu cargo hangar "Im already on it!"
Keno puts his phone away, he turns to his group "Dont worry it wont be long now, we'll have you outa here in no-time.
BACK IN THE PRISON.....
Orison throws his M16 to the floor as the last guard falls, Evrae kicks spent shells out of the way as he heads for the maximum security door. "How long we got left cap'n?" Orison pulls up his sleeve to look at his watch "um....we've got 15 minutes" Evrae kicks the door "Dammit! The door is too thick to blow away, im gonna need some codes" Evrae gets his phone "Hey, is Evrae, I need access codes for a level five security door,the security pad is made by Hershaw & Williams" Tersa produces the correct disk in a matter of seconds "You want fries with that Evrae?" Evrae chuckles "always the comediene Tersa, cant you ever be serious?" The data downloads into Evrae's mind, he puts his hand to the codepad and inputs the twelve digit code. Orison reloads his autos "We red yet?" Evrae nods, the door slowly slides back, the lights in the room beyond flicker to life, several doors line the room, the muffled cries of the prisoners heard behind them. Orison looks at each door in turn "There it is, No 6557, thats our guy" Evrae knocks on the door and shouts "Hey! Stand well back! We are gonna blow the door!" Evrae attatches some C4 to the hydraulic locks, the explosion shakes the room, dust is shook free from the ceiling, a figure steps through the fog like dust, he removes his fingers from his ears and shouts "WHAT KEPT YOU!!". The man extends his hand as a sign of grattitude "The name's Shufa, Ryan Shufa" Orison shakes his hand briefly "Nice to meet you Shufa but our time is running out, we must hurry" Evrae, Orison and Shufa make a hasty exit from the maximum scecurity room, Shufa is overcome with awe at the decimated prison "Jeez! You guys sure dont mess around!", suddenly a large bang is heard, they turn to see punch indents on one of the max security doors, Orison reaches for his phone, "Trip, we have an agent on our tail, be ready to cover us as soon as we exit the prison, Tersa, keep a lock on our location, I want the quickest route to the jack out position" Tersa replies with a solemn tone "Captain, I just recieved word that the Thendorine was destroyed, an Uruan, is dead, Ive just briefed the guys in the mechs that sentinels may be on the approach, the jack out point is on 7th street, east block, good luck, if i see any shortcuts ill tell you" Orison lowers his phone, the unrelenting sound of the weakening door behind echoing all around "Cap'n, whats up?" orison looks at Shufa then at Evrae "things have just gotten very, complicated" they make a break for the exit, the same way they came in. The door collapses behind them as the Agent bursts through "Evrae, get him to the car, ill try and hold the Agent off" Evrae turns and answers "Dont die on us Cap'n" Orison smirks as he draws his autos "Im not planning on dying just yet, move it!"
Shufa and Evrae sprint to the prison exit, an exchange of gunfire echoing behind them. Bullets spray from the barrels of Orisons auto's, the Agent blurrs, each bullet failing to hit, they careen into the nearby wall. Orisons guns click, a smirk spreads across the Agents face, Orison growls "What the hell are you smirking at! I can kick you ass with or without guns!!!" as he looses control of his rage, Orison charges at the Agent, fist raised high in the air. The Agent fires at Orison with his remaining three bullets, Orison anticipates them, he tilts his head to allow the first bullet to pass, it grazes his ear, he moves his arm to dodge the second, Orison is a matter of inches away from the Agent, he fails to anticipate the third, the bullet sears through his side and goes clean through, a trail of blood follows and traces his path behind as it finds the floor. Orison, fuelled by his anger and desperation simply ignores the pain, his fist surges forward and meets the chest of the Agent, the impact forces the Agent to loose grip of his gun as it falls to the floor.
Evrae looks towards the prison entrance, he walks to the drivers side of the car and leans down to the open window to talk to Trip, the sound of Shufa catching his breath causes him to smile "Trip, I want you to do a big favour for me" Trip nods "If I or Orison dont come back in five minutes, leave" Trip speaks "He didnt want you to back for him, he is doing it so that we might live" Evrae shakes his head "yeah we might live, for another day, then what? Without Orison we are as good as roadkill......Trip, pop the trunk, im gonna need the heavy stuff"
The trunk of the car pop's open, Evrae removes a large black case and sets it down on the ground, raindrops splashing and bouncing off the case. "Evrae, are you completely sure about this?" Evrae simply looks at Trip, his eye's giving away the obvious answer "Ok, have it your way, you've got five minutes Evrae, best get moving"
Orison is thrown upwards by a vicious uppercut and lands on the suspended platform above, Orison valliantly rises to face the Agent again, the chains suspending the platform jerk around violently as the Agent lands with a thud, Orison slurs his words as he speaks, his jaw slightly out of place "So ya come back for more huh, take this!" Orison flips over the Agent, landing a punch as he goes. The Agent, unphased by Orisons feeble attempt, catches Orison by the throat, he gags and begins to flail, a loud boisterous voice suddenly distract's the Agent "Looks like you need some help there Cap'n!" Evrae brandishes a rocket launcher nestled on his shoulder. Taking advantage of the Agents momentary confusion, Orison lashes out with his leg, he dislodges the chains on either side of the platform and it begins to plummet towards the cold prison floor, the crash deafens Evrae as he loads a final rocket into the launcher. Orison rolls from the wreckage, the bullet wound in his side still seeping crimson tears. The Agent rises and nonchalantly throws a steel girder in Orisons general direcion, the Agent begins to run for Orison, "Get ready Evrae!!" bellows Orison as he runs towards a wall with the Agent close behind. Just before Orison reaches the wall he shouts "NOW!" A rocket streams out of the launcher, a trail of fire traced in the air, Orison runs up the wall and proceeds to perform a backflip off of it, the Agent, entirely focused, keeps him in sight, unaware of the rocket rapidly aproaching, Orison lands just as the rocket passes beneath him. It hits the Agent, but it does not explode, the Agent is carried through the wall via the rockets excessive force into the toilet block in the center of the prison exercise yard. The explosion shakes the very foundation of the prison as a fireball illuminates the rain in the night sky. "Cap'n we gatta go! Trip is waiting for us!" they both sprint to the car before they speed away to the mass jackout location. "Tersa, whats out situation out there?" Tersa strains as she wraps a bandage around a deep cut in her leg "The guy's outside managed to hold off the main patrol of sentinals, we dont have long till reinforcements show up" Orison places his phone back in his pocket as people jack out behind him. "Keno, please accept my humblest apologies for the loss of Uruan" Keno smiles as he looks up "Its ok Orison, we always knew he wanted to go out with a bang but I never took it literally, he will always be remembered" Trip shouts from across the room "Ok thats the last of them, our calls are waiting" Keno sighs as he removes his sunglasses "Seeya in Zion guys" he dissapears, leaving the phone dangling momentarily in the air. Orison is the last to leave, he lets the phone ring as he walks to the window, the clouds in the digital sky begin to part and let shards of light filter through to the saturated ground. Orison picks up the phone and dissapears, the phone dangles from the side of the table, a ceaseless 'beep, beep, beep, beep' emmiting from it, it swithces to an automted message "the person you are trying to reach has hung up or has been disconnected, please try again later...."
THE END
Zion, the last refuge of humankind, an island of hope in a sea of despair. The people of Zion go about their daily business; working and building, Counsellor Seth paces back and forth in the deserted counsel chamber, each step echoing from the brown earth walls. Small groups of people begin to filter through the chamber doors, each seemingly unaware of the news that Seth is to tell. "Come along now people, we don't have all day" Seth beckons to the crowd "I have immensely important news that the counsel has asked me to bring to your attention" the crowd falls silent to receive the counsellors words. "The counsel has decided that the time has come for Zion's most ambitious operation as of yet" Seth resumes his tireless pacing, "We are to partake in a mass unplugging operation involving candidates who have been pre-selected and located, these candidates include possible potentials and people who have become aware of the Matrix on some kind of level". The crowd suddenly becomes restless as many people try to speak at once, "please calm down! One at a time, I said one at a time!" Shouts Seth above the confusion.
Captain Orison rises from his seat to speak, "Counsellor, there have been many rumours flying around about this operation for the last few weeks, I suppose that the biggest rumour is that most of the Zion fleet will be in action for this operation, is this true?" Seth cracks a smile "It appears that your source is well informed Captain, but it is not just the majority of the fleet that will be involved, the Zion mech division will also take part" The crowd once again becomes unsettled but soon regains its composure, Seth resumes his briefing, still pacing the length of the chamber as he speaks "Now before I continue, could I please ask you to remain silent till I have fully explained what else the operation entails" Seth pauses for a moment "Good, then I will proceed. The majority of the candidates who are to be unplugged are located on the south east tower in the wasteland power plant, we estimate that the sentinel activity is high, but they don't usually interfere unless a pod is unplugged, this means that we will have to unplug as many people simultaneously as possible, from there we will need to work fast to clear the rest out of the matrix" Seth pauses, the crowd is silent "We need at least 5 ships, any volunteers?".
Another day in Zion begins, lights flicker to life as the generators kick in, corridors light up section by section, light reflects from the metal pipes and walls. The five volunteer captains make their way down the Zion dock passageway, each troubled by the task they are about to undertake. The Nephitis, Scanori, Thendorine, Rekanu and Phalanx hoverships await their crew as they are loaded up with mechs, two to each ship, enough to stay a sentinel attack for at least a while. Captain Orison sighs "This is it gentlemen, no turning back from here, we have sworn to carry out this task to the best of our abilities, we will stare death in the eyes and then poke em out!!!" The other captains laugh "I guess there is nothing more to say" the smiles fade from the captains faces before they shout in unison "FOR ZION!!!" the Captains leave to join their crew, a large crowd has gathered above the docks on the connecting bridge, the captains and their crew shove their fists in the air, the crowd goes wild, cheering for the brave souls who have undertaken this task. Counselor Seth steps forward and addresses the crews, each lined up outside their ships "Godspeed, the people of Zion will be with you all the way" With the close of that statement the crew board their ships, the hydrolic ramps closing noisily behind them.
Orison, the desegnated fleet leader, addresses the Captains before they leave the dock one last time "Yamuke, Herame, Shaman, Uruan, lets all come back in one piece". The Zion dock gates begin to close as the last ship departs, the gates slam together as the last ship vanishes into the darkness.
The five hoverships emerge from the maintenance sewers one by one, each shining like blue fireflies aginst the dark ground and sky, the Nephitis communication screen crackles to life, "This is Yamuke of the Phalanx, we are closing in on the west power plant towers, what is out courese of action", "Orison here, according to your position there should be a drainage trench running from the base of the towers for about three miles, take up position there and have your mech's on standby". Orison swivels his seat back around as he takes control of the Nephitis again, "Trip, you can head back to the core now, check up on Tersa, make sure she's got our entry posistion hacked" Trip acknowledges with a nod before exiting the thingypit via the ladder.
The hoverships break their formation and head for their positions. The Nephitis takes up position near the east tower, just out of range of detection, Orison checks up on the other ships as he gently set's the Nephitis down "What's our status people", the communication screen crackles to life once more "Phalanx, in position.....Scanori, ready for action.....Rekanu, no problem's.....Thendorine, all systems go". Orison sighs as he heads to the core of the Nephitis "Something on you mind captain?" asks Tersa as she concentrates on the lines of falling code, "Everything is on my mind Tersa, the lives of those we are to free are now in our hands, we have everything to loose" Orison sighs again "Make sure Kersh and Orata are on standby in the mechs, we dont wanna be left defenseless. Trip, wake Evrae up, its time."
Trip runs to the sleeping quarters and wakes Evrae up with a hard kick to a bucket on the floor, shocked awake, Evrae promptly punches Trip in the arm "Hey! I was getting some good sleep then dude!!".
Orison confers with the other ships one last time before he and the others jack in, "Ok, so we have got Scanori on emergency support and defence....the Phalanx is on pickup and defence so that leaves us, the Rekanu and the Thendorine to jack in" simultaneous replys of "Roger!" echo through the communication speakers. "Good, its all set then, Trip, Evrae, lets go!".
The Shanely east block prison, home to 5000 convicts, 50 on death row, only one to be freed. A figure in a long black leather trenchcoat walks up to the reception desk, staffed entirely by security guards, each packing semi- automatic pistols and bullet proof vests.
"Sorry sir but visiting time is over, and we have a government inspection due any minute now" drones the extremely overweight guard sitting by the desk, the man steps into the light shining from the reception sign, "who said I was here to visit?" chuckles the man as he draws a glock from his trenchcoat, the guards barely have time to react as their bullet proof vests are ripped apart by teflon tipped, armour piercing bullets. The man takes a mobile phone from his pocket, "Trip, I want you to keep a lookout at the gates, Evrae, follow me in, this could get messy", "sure capn'" crackles the phone, its signal partially broken by the powerlines gracing the prison courtyard. Evrae speedily runs to meet Orison inside, "Capn', I just intercepted radio transmission from further inside the prison, sounds like they've broken out the heavy artillery and are setting up a barricade, they're ready for us" Orison smirks, "well i guess we are gonna have to break out our own heavy artillery eh". Orison removes his trenchcoat to reveal a M16 and a grenade launcher strapped to his back, he grabs the grenade launcher and loads it as they proceed down the corridor to the barricade, they reach the door, the sound of the chaotic loading of guns echoing from behind it. "Evrae, lets give em hell!!".
The guards crouch nervously behind the barricade, their guns trained on the door, suddenly a 'kerflump!' sound is heard from behind the door, a shuddering guards asks "what the hell was that...", the sound of someone running breaks the guards concentration, "RAAAAAGGHHHH!!" Orison bursts through the doors so strongly that they fly off their hinges, splinters of wood spiraling through the air, before the doors can even hit the ground, Orison fires his grenade launcher directly at the base of the barricade, a guard screams "OH SHI..!!", the round detonates sending the guards arching through the air, a stray limb floats upwards while the tables and chairs that formed the barricade evaporate in a torrent of flame and shrapnel. Silence once again dominates the corridors, only the faint confused cries of the prisoners can be heard, "take point Evrae, i need a little time to catch my breath, the grenade rounds that Tersa uploaded were way stronger than I expected". Evrae nods and continues ahead, the sound of his footsteps echoing down the corridor, the main holding cells only a few meter's away.
MEANWHILE.......
"come on dammit move move move!!" Captain Uruan bellows as he leads a small group of five from a sewer hideout. Uruan places his mobile by the side fo his head as he walks "Keno! gimme some good news here, please tell me that you have located that last group of potentials!"
Keno replies confidently "Hey no problem! Ive located them! They were hiding in the station ventilation ducts!" Keno wipes the blood from his sunglasses as he places his phone in his pocket, a gang of street thugs littering the floor, Keno directs the potentials around the corpses "dont look kids, just keep moving, just keep moving, uncle Keno is gonna take care of ya" Uruan picks up his phone once more, a gruff voice answers "Operator", Uruan takes a deep breath and begins to speak "Loopa, i want you to keep me updated on any potential hostile movement in this area, the last thing I want is a S.W.A.T. team massacaring my group" Loopa nervously replies "Uh...sir, i dont know about S.W.A.T. but I just detected an Agent heading your way, five meters ahead and closing!"
"Loopa give me some options here!" Loopa franticly searches for blueprints and plans of the sewer system, "there should be an old maintenance hatch to you left, it heads straight to Keno rendezvous point!" Uruan turns to face his group, the look of fear in their eyes piercing Uruan's soul "Ok, i want you all to take this passage" he shoots the lock on the door and kicks it open "I want you to run, never stop, never look back" a voice from the back of the group rises above the commmotion of the group "what about you?", Uruan smiles "I dont matter, your safety is what matters" the splish splosh of footsteps through water echoes in Uruans ears "GO, NOW!". Uruan closes the door as the last of the group pass through, he stands alone in the dim service light of the sewer. Uruan draws his semi-automatics and trains them on the bend in the sewer ahead, awaiting the cold uncompromising stride of the Agent. The semi-automatics fire and a hail of bullets storms through the stagnant sewer air, the Agent blurs as he weaves between each bullet, Uruan gasps "dammit!". the Agent draws his Desert Eagle, its shadow framed on the wall by a blinking service light above, a single shot is fired and it hits directly in Uruan's stomach, he falls to the floor and cries out in pain. The Agent silently walks over to Uruan and aims at his head "Hey, buttwipe!" the sudden confident insult distracts the Agent for a moment and a moment is all Uruan needs "suck on this!" Uruan produces a grenade form his jacket, the pin taken out, the catch released. Uruan's group, still running, suddenly freeze as a large boom echoes from behind them, dust and loose brickwork shake loose from the tremor, one of then shouts "come on! we gatta keep moving, just like he said" the group continues towards the rendezvous point, refusing to look back.
Loopa cradles his head in his hands, Uruans monitor droning with a flatline signal, Loopa regains his composure as he cover Uruans corpse with a sheet as a sign of respect "Rest in peace captain, we will never give up" Loopa wipes a stray tear from his eyes as a contact signal beeps in his headpiece "Operator".
"Loopa, its Keno, Uruans group have just arrived but I dont see any sign of Uraun" Loopa sighs into his headpiece "Uruan is dead, his group was ambushed by an Agent, he got them into the passageway before he blew the Agent and himself to bits". Keno's eyes widen with disbelief "Oh my god! No, DAMMIT!!" he makes a hole in the wall with his fist, "Ok, ok, right we are gonna proceed as planned, Ive got both groups in the safe house and they are ready to jack out, all we need is confirmation from Uruan's group and Herame's group." Loopa tries to locate Herame's group in the code. "Dammit, where the hell are they? Im gonna try and raise a signal from the Thendorine" Loopa scans the monitors as his fingers blur over the keyboard, suddenly he stops, his eyes widen and his jaw drops, Keno becomes concerned "Loopa? whats wrong?"
"It's gone....my god its gone, the Thendorine, its completely destroyed!" Keno curses uncontrollably at the news, a child in his group begins to cry, her tears cascading to the floor "How the hell did it happen!? No-one heard a blast? Loopa, you've gatta tell the guys outside in the mechs!", Loopa takes a flashlight from a storage compartment as he runs to the Rekanu cargo hangar "Im already on it!"
Keno puts his phone away, he turns to his group "Dont worry it wont be long now, we'll have you outa here in no-time.
BACK IN THE PRISON.....
Orison throws his M16 to the floor as the last guard falls, Evrae kicks spent shells out of the way as he heads for the maximum security door. "How long we got left cap'n?" Orison pulls up his sleeve to look at his watch "um....we've got 15 minutes" Evrae kicks the door "Dammit! The door is too thick to blow away, im gonna need some codes" Evrae gets his phone "Hey, is Evrae, I need access codes for a level five security door,the security pad is made by Hershaw & Williams" Tersa produces the correct disk in a matter of seconds "You want fries with that Evrae?" Evrae chuckles "always the comediene Tersa, cant you ever be serious?" The data downloads into Evrae's mind, he puts his hand to the codepad and inputs the twelve digit code. Orison reloads his autos "We red yet?" Evrae nods, the door slowly slides back, the lights in the room beyond flicker to life, several doors line the room, the muffled cries of the prisoners heard behind them. Orison looks at each door in turn "There it is, No 6557, thats our guy" Evrae knocks on the door and shouts "Hey! Stand well back! We are gonna blow the door!" Evrae attatches some C4 to the hydraulic locks, the explosion shakes the room, dust is shook free from the ceiling, a figure steps through the fog like dust, he removes his fingers from his ears and shouts "WHAT KEPT YOU!!". The man extends his hand as a sign of grattitude "The name's Shufa, Ryan Shufa" Orison shakes his hand briefly "Nice to meet you Shufa but our time is running out, we must hurry" Evrae, Orison and Shufa make a hasty exit from the maximum scecurity room, Shufa is overcome with awe at the decimated prison "Jeez! You guys sure dont mess around!", suddenly a large bang is heard, they turn to see punch indents on one of the max security doors, Orison reaches for his phone, "Trip, we have an agent on our tail, be ready to cover us as soon as we exit the prison, Tersa, keep a lock on our location, I want the quickest route to the jack out position" Tersa replies with a solemn tone "Captain, I just recieved word that the Thendorine was destroyed, an Uruan, is dead, Ive just briefed the guys in the mechs that sentinels may be on the approach, the jack out point is on 7th street, east block, good luck, if i see any shortcuts ill tell you" Orison lowers his phone, the unrelenting sound of the weakening door behind echoing all around "Cap'n, whats up?" orison looks at Shufa then at Evrae "things have just gotten very, complicated" they make a break for the exit, the same way they came in. The door collapses behind them as the Agent bursts through "Evrae, get him to the car, ill try and hold the Agent off" Evrae turns and answers "Dont die on us Cap'n" Orison smirks as he draws his autos "Im not planning on dying just yet, move it!"
Shufa and Evrae sprint to the prison exit, an exchange of gunfire echoing behind them. Bullets spray from the barrels of Orisons auto's, the Agent blurrs, each bullet failing to hit, they careen into the nearby wall. Orisons guns click, a smirk spreads across the Agents face, Orison growls "What the hell are you smirking at! I can kick you ass with or without guns!!!" as he looses control of his rage, Orison charges at the Agent, fist raised high in the air. The Agent fires at Orison with his remaining three bullets, Orison anticipates them, he tilts his head to allow the first bullet to pass, it grazes his ear, he moves his arm to dodge the second, Orison is a matter of inches away from the Agent, he fails to anticipate the third, the bullet sears through his side and goes clean through, a trail of blood follows and traces his path behind as it finds the floor. Orison, fuelled by his anger and desperation simply ignores the pain, his fist surges forward and meets the chest of the Agent, the impact forces the Agent to loose grip of his gun as it falls to the floor.
Evrae looks towards the prison entrance, he walks to the drivers side of the car and leans down to the open window to talk to Trip, the sound of Shufa catching his breath causes him to smile "Trip, I want you to do a big favour for me" Trip nods "If I or Orison dont come back in five minutes, leave" Trip speaks "He didnt want you to back for him, he is doing it so that we might live" Evrae shakes his head "yeah we might live, for another day, then what? Without Orison we are as good as roadkill......Trip, pop the trunk, im gonna need the heavy stuff"
The trunk of the car pop's open, Evrae removes a large black case and sets it down on the ground, raindrops splashing and bouncing off the case. "Evrae, are you completely sure about this?" Evrae simply looks at Trip, his eye's giving away the obvious answer "Ok, have it your way, you've got five minutes Evrae, best get moving"
Orison is thrown upwards by a vicious uppercut and lands on the suspended platform above, Orison valliantly rises to face the Agent again, the chains suspending the platform jerk around violently as the Agent lands with a thud, Orison slurs his words as he speaks, his jaw slightly out of place "So ya come back for more huh, take this!" Orison flips over the Agent, landing a punch as he goes. The Agent, unphased by Orisons feeble attempt, catches Orison by the throat, he gags and begins to flail, a loud boisterous voice suddenly distract's the Agent "Looks like you need some help there Cap'n!" Evrae brandishes a rocket launcher nestled on his shoulder. Taking advantage of the Agents momentary confusion, Orison lashes out with his leg, he dislodges the chains on either side of the platform and it begins to plummet towards the cold prison floor, the crash deafens Evrae as he loads a final rocket into the launcher. Orison rolls from the wreckage, the bullet wound in his side still seeping crimson tears. The Agent rises and nonchalantly throws a steel girder in Orisons general direcion, the Agent begins to run for Orison, "Get ready Evrae!!" bellows Orison as he runs towards a wall with the Agent close behind. Just before Orison reaches the wall he shouts "NOW!" A rocket streams out of the launcher, a trail of fire traced in the air, Orison runs up the wall and proceeds to perform a backflip off of it, the Agent, entirely focused, keeps him in sight, unaware of the rocket rapidly aproaching, Orison lands just as the rocket passes beneath him. It hits the Agent, but it does not explode, the Agent is carried through the wall via the rockets excessive force into the toilet block in the center of the prison exercise yard. The explosion shakes the very foundation of the prison as a fireball illuminates the rain in the night sky. "Cap'n we gatta go! Trip is waiting for us!" they both sprint to the car before they speed away to the mass jackout location. "Tersa, whats out situation out there?" Tersa strains as she wraps a bandage around a deep cut in her leg "The guy's outside managed to hold off the main patrol of sentinals, we dont have long till reinforcements show up" Orison places his phone back in his pocket as people jack out behind him. "Keno, please accept my humblest apologies for the loss of Uruan" Keno smiles as he looks up "Its ok Orison, we always knew he wanted to go out with a bang but I never took it literally, he will always be remembered" Trip shouts from across the room "Ok thats the last of them, our calls are waiting" Keno sighs as he removes his sunglasses "Seeya in Zion guys" he dissapears, leaving the phone dangling momentarily in the air. Orison is the last to leave, he lets the phone ring as he walks to the window, the clouds in the digital sky begin to part and let shards of light filter through to the saturated ground. Orison picks up the phone and dissapears, the phone dangles from the side of the table, a ceaseless 'beep, beep, beep, beep' emmiting from it, it swithces to an automted message "the person you are trying to reach has hung up or has been disconnected, please try again later...."
THE END