Chapter 08: When Light is Put Away
Stakeout.
That was the mission Rachel found herself on that late autumn evening, shivering as the weakening warmth of the sun began to disappear. She was crouched down in the underbrush near the top of a hill with a pair of binoculars in hand, keeping watch over what lay below. If she directed her gaze towards the valley below, Rachel could clearly discern the crumbling ruins of a rural town, little more than a jumble of sagging walls and collapsed roofing, and all of it dusted by the golden hues of sunset.
Rachel was not alone in her vigil. Deployed around her were half a dozen units of soldiers, spread out in a loose ring around their target. Further back, a multitude of vehicles in orange livery – mostly cars, tanks and transports – waited out of sight. It was a small force, truth be told, but one that was sufficient for her purpose. They were there primarily as observers. Rachel was itching to strike back against Black Hole, but she was keenly aware that she could only engage the enemy under favourable conditions. If the enemy was even there, that was.
A cramp ran through her arm and Rachel winced, setting the binoculars aside for a moment. She had been waiting in the underbrush for hours, hardly moving at all, and it was beginning to take its toll. Leaves and branches rustled as she shifted her weight, scraping against her legs and ankles. For the first time Rachel was grateful for the cast and bandages still wrapped around her right foot. It would have taken more than a few scratching twigs to get through the thick plaster.
Rachel had been out of the hospital for a week and back in the field for almost as long. She could barely walk without crutches, and by all rights shouldn't have been on duty, but the simple truth was that Orange Star needed her. There had been several sightings of strange troops and ships to the south since Flak's assault had been thwarted, and so she and Max had headed out to patrol and investigate while Andy and Sami returned to their positions on the Blue Moon border. Eagle meanwhile had withdrawn his troops and pulled back to his support fleet while their two governments wrangled over the terms of their alliance in these changing times. At least the presence of his independent battalion off the coast might deter Black Hole a little, Rachel thought.
Small comforts like that were all they had to cling to. They knew there was enemy activity all along the southern coast, but pinpointing their locations or finding out what they sought to achieve had so far proven difficult. While the mysterious nature of this new threat remained no less of a concern, at least there was one silver lining: there had been no further attacks on Orange Star. While Rachel didn't dare hope that a few localised defeats were enough to put an end to whatever Black Hole was plotting, the enemy did seem to have pulled back. But then what was their goal? There was no seeming reason to any of it, and it was maddening.
Rachel had grown used to puzzling out the motives of an inscrutable foe in Omega Land, but she could find no logic behind any of this. She could only guess that someone – she had no idea who – had sought to take advantage of the unrest between Orange Star and Blue Moon. Maybe their unknown enemy had thought they'd be able to establish a foothold without being noticed, or that Orange Star would be incapable of mounting a quick response under the current circumstances. But to what end? Once the enemy was on their soil it was only a matter of time before they were found and destroyed. It didn't make sense.
Unless, of course, these were just the opening moves in a much greater play.
It was a conclusion Rachel kept coming back to. Worse, it was the only one she could think of that made any sense at all. It wasn't impossible that Black Hole could be expending whatever resources they had left in a wasteful act of petty vengeance, but neither did it seem likely. They had always acted with something to gain in the past. It made far more sense that this new threat, whatever it was, was part of something bigger than they knew, that there was a reason for all of it – one that they couldn't yet see.
That thought alone was troubling enough, but it was not the only thing on Rachel's mind as she kept up her watch on the ruined town. Only that morning Blue Moon had formally withdrawn from the Allied Nations, decrying the organisation as corrupt and ineffective. The announcement had been paired with a demand that the Turtle Islands in the northwest be returned to their control, citing cultural and historic reasons. It was an outrageous request. The islands had been part of Orange Star for forty years. Making things worse was the fact that considerable oil reserves had been discovered off the coast of the islands only eighteen months earlier, giving them great economic potential in addition to their strategic value. Officially, the President was taking some time to consider the demand, but they all knew he would refuse. And when he did, it would give Blue Moon a pretext for war.
Rachel closed her eyes and wondered at the sadness flowing through her. She had fought alongside Colin, Sasha and Grit in the worst conflict she could possibly imagine. They had laughed together, drank together, had shared hopes and fears alike. Their two countries had bled to stop an evil drawn straight out of a nightmare, as had Green Earth and Yellow Comet. None of it seemed real to her, that the people she respected – that she considered her friends – might soon be her enemies, staring back at her from the other side of a battlefield.
She took a short, sharp breath to steady herself and opened her eyes again, focusing her attention on the derelict buildings below. The town was a remnant of a battle fought long ago. A surprise attack by Blue Moon forces had devastated the sheltered little community, back when the two countries were engaged in one of their many conflicts. It had never been rebuilt, and now all that was left were the collapsing remnants of blasted houses and patches of weeds that had split open some few abandoned roads. To the south scrub bushes and thin trees grew over a strange series of undulating hollows, the legacy of a bombing run. To the west, a large warehouse made of rusted, flaking iron and rotting wood loomed over the sombre scene. Once the warehouse had been a storage facility for a shipping company, used to hold goods as they made their way inland. Now it was nothing, only an ugly scar from a battle long forgotten.
Rachel's eyes narrowed as they lingered on the warehouse. If her hunch was right, the building might be far more than it seemed.
Her com device gave a sudden chirp, the sound echoing through the eerie quiet of the falling night. Rachel's eyes never left the warehouse as she slipped it from her pocket and put it to her ear.
"This is Rachel," she said in a soft voice, her heart skipping a beat as she wondered what news would come.
"It's me," Max's voice burst through. "Just thought I'd check in."
"Max," Rachel breathed a sigh of relief. "You checked in two hours ago."
"Yeah, and now I'm checking in again. Seen anything yet?"
"Nope, not yet. But if I was hiding out here I'd wait for the cover of night. If we're going to see something it'll be once it gets dark, which should be –" she glanced at a small computer set up beside her to check the time – "very soon."
"Well, just be careful. If Black Hole is using that old town as a base, they could have a whole squad of Neotanks hidden away there and we'd never even know." There was a short pause. "Man, now I sound like Nell."
Rachel laughed a little. "Don't worry, it sounds much tougher when you say it."
"You're just sayin' that to make me feel better, aren't you?"
She smiled to herself. "Guilty."
"Cripes," Max snorted. "When did I get so damn responsible?"
"Maybe working with me is rubbing off on you."
Another amused snort. "Yeah, maybe. Anyway, that's all I had to say, so I guess I'll talk to you later. Max out."
Rachel grinned to herself as she returned to her watch over the town. Max had been like this ever since she returned to active duty. It was kind of cute just how overprotective he could be. It was also kind of ridiculous, considering that she had been his commanding officer for months on end in Omega Land. Not that he had ever really treated her as anything other than an equal. Max's regard for protocol was lax at best.
A second chirp issued forth from her com. Rachel shook her head in disbelief as she reached again to answer it. So much for her silent, stealthy stakeout. Well, as silent and stealthy as anything involving three dozen soldiers, their associated transports and Humvees, multiple tank squads, and artillery support could be.
"This is Rachel."
"It's only me," Nell's voice said.
Rachel rolled her eyes skyward. Ever since she had been discharged from the hospital Nell had been calling her at regular intervals, even though she felt fine. Being the only person in the Orange Star Armed Forces whose superior officer was also her big sister could be trying sometimes; between Nell and Max she'd more than had her fill of people fretting over her. Rachel was just grateful that Sami, who she'd met late in the Omega War and had only a professional relationship with, and Andy, who she still knew more from Max's stories than anything else, had shown no such tendencies.
"Hey, Sis. What's up?"
"I just wanted to ask you about something."
Rachel noted how distant her sister sounded and felt a twinge of unease. Nell's questions were rarely reassuring these days. Still, at least the first thing out of her sister's mouth had been something other than a waterfall of well-meaning concern.
"Well…" Rachel set her binoculars down and looked away from the warehouse. "I guess I've got a moment to spare. Shoot."
"Hawke and Lash spent a lot of time with your group in Omega Land, didn't they?"
"They were with us for a while, yeah. But they didn't exactly open up much. They mostly kept to themselves."
"I had a feeling you were going to say something like that," Nell remarked, and Rachel could practically hear her sister's knowing smile. "Did either of them ever talk about their past?"
Rachel couldn't help but chuckle at the idea. "Are you kidding? Those two didn't volunteer anything. I think the only reason we got any information out of them at all was because we kept running into things only they could explain. Usually things that were trying to kill us."
"Try to think. Did either Hawke or Lash ever say anything about the events of the Second Great War? It's important."
Rachel thought back over every encounter, every meeting. She remembered Hawke's face, stolid and unyielding as he dictated the fate of a continent. Lash had been his complete opposite, always brimming with energy as her devious gaze played over them all like pieces on a chessboard. Rachel could see them all like they were right there on the hillside with her. Colin and Sasha, eyes bright and full of hope, and Jake, so driven and so determined to save his homeland. She felt a strange shiver and shut her eyes tight.
"No, nothing," Rachel said, forcing her voice to hold steady. "Like I said, they really just kept to themselves."
"I see."
Nell sounded more tired than disappointed, Rachel thought. Her own conflicted feelings were forgotten as she wondered what exactly her sister was trying to investigate. Perhaps there was some other way she could help. It certainly sounded like Nell could use a break.
"What's this all about, Sis?"
"Oh, I'm just trying to solve a riddle."
"You're… what?" It was not an answer Rachel would have expected. "What kind of riddle?"
"Simple. Why fear a dead man?" Nell replied.
Rachel blinked. "Do I want to know what that's supposed to mean?"
Her sister laughed a little. "Whatever we're dealing with now seems to have been set in motion before Von Bolt took command. I suspect even before Hawke's retreat from Macro Land. My interview with Von Bolt touched on the subject, but when I brought up Sturm's name, he shut down completely. He seemed almost… afraid. Hence the riddle – why fear a dead man?"
"I don't know," Rachel said. It was a strange question, even by recent standards.
"Neither do I. But I've started to wonder – what if Von Bolt suspected his dominion over Black Hole wasn't total? What if he believed that Sturm had created some kind of reserve force during the Second Great War, one that was unaccounted for, and still loyal to him even after his death?"
"And that force is this new Black Hole Army we're dealing with now," Rachel finished.
"Exactly. I was hoping you might remember something that would shed some insight on whether or not the theory is plausible. It was a long shot, I'll admit."
Rachel thought about that for a moment. "You know Sis, there might be a solution staring you in the face here. Why don't you talk to Lash?"
Nell's sigh burst from the com in a soft rush of static. "The thought did occur to me. We knew she was holding back during her debriefing, although I can't imagine she'd be any more cooperative now. Not after everything that's happened."
"You never know," Rachel said in a quiet voice.
"True, but Lash is… dangerous, and worse, she's intensely clever. I'm wary of giving her a chance to get inside my head. If it becomes necessary I'll try to reason with her, but I don't think we're there quite yet."
Rachel went quiet again, flashing back to the aftermath of the Omega War. Maybe I do care… a little bit. That was what Lash had said as they stood amidst the rubble of Von Bolt's base. Rachel had never seen the girl as vulnerable as she'd been in that moment, immediately after Hawke's death. Lash had been so shaken and unsure that for perhaps the first time she'd let down her guard and shown something real. At the time Rachel had been so certain that the worst was past. Standing there with Jake and Max, that terrible conflict over at last, it had seemed like things could only get better.
How the hell had they ended up here?
Staring ahead into the valley she could almost forget that the last six months had ever happened, her eyes filled with the faraway memories. It was well and truly dark now, and the world was made of shadows and ink. All except-
Rachel whistled under her breath. There, inside the town, was a faint yellow light. It was little more than a speck of warm gold holding fast against the gloom, but it was there.
"Sis, I have to go. We've got something."
"In the old town?" Nell's voice rose. "I see. Well, do be careful. Nell out."
Rachel shook her head again as her sister terminated the link. She'd led an entire war effort on behalf of the Allied Nations and still Nell felt she had to tell her to be careful. Some things never changed.
Lifting the binoculars again she peered at the light more closely. Even from a distance she could see it was shaped like a square, and coming from a window in a house near the town's outskirts. Rachel frowned. It seemed odd that light was coming from a small, nondescript house rather than the warehouse, or some other more important building. It didn't feel right. Still, she had to follow the clues as they presented themselves.
"Alright, Beta team, move in and get a look at that house," she decided. "Be careful. We don't know what's in there. Gamma, Delta, follow their lead and watch the town's perimeter."
"Orders acknowledged, commander. Moving out now."
Her heartbeat rising, Rachel watched as three squads of infantry began to make their way down the slope. Night had fallen so quickly that she could barely see them at all now. It was unsettling to think that fifteen soldiers were nothing more than a faint shimmer in the gloom, and worse to think of what might be waiting for them below. Rachel was barely even blinking as they approached the house.
"Beta, report," she said.
"We're approaching the property from the rear," the squad leader answered. "The back gate is open, and we're heading into the yard."
"Any sign of activity inside?" Rachel asked.
"Not that we can-"
He never finished the sentence. A flash of intense light seared through the valley, followed a split second later by a colossal boom. Rachel stared at the explosion, dumbfounded. Her ears were ringing and she could barely see at all, the afterimage of the light still burned into her vision.
"What the hell?" She blurted out. "Beta, report! Report, please!"
Silence. Nothing at all, save for the ringing in her ears. Rachel shut her eyes, the flare of the explosion still flashing before her. She took a precious second to collect her thoughts and decide on a course of action.
"All units, this is Rachel. Standby. I repeat, standby. Do not move." She turned to the lieutenant beside her. "What just happened? Did we register anything?"
He shook his head. "No ma'am. Nothing at all before the explosion."
Rachel pursed her lips. "Okay, do we have any records of this town being mined? Or old ordnance in the area?"
"No ma'am. There's nothing like that on record."
Rachel swore. If it wasn't an old bomb they'd run into, that meant someone had been placing explosives in the area very recently, and under the circumstances, it seemed obvious who. Her hunch about the town was almost certainly correct, Rachel knew, though it gave her little satisfaction now. She raised her com to issue new orders.
"Listen up, everyone. That bomb was probably put there by Black Hole, so until I say otherwise, this town is an active combat zone. Be ready for anything. We don't know who or what's down there or how many more traps are waiting for us." She paused. "Gamma team, sweep by that house and check for survivors, but keep your distance. Delta, watch their back. Recon One, move in behind them and provide cover. Understood?"
All units replied in the affirmative. Rachel typed a few commands into her computer and studied the topographical display of the area, her units displayed on the map as small dots and icons. Any routes out of the town were well covered by her tanks; the problem was what might be hiding in the dilapidated old buildings.
A sudden burst of gunfire rang out from below.
"Gamma, report!"
"We've been hit down here! Black Hole grunts, they've set up a crossfire–"
There was a burst of static amid another layer of gunfire. Rachel scowled. It seemed the enemy was well prepared for any incursion into the town.
"Gamma, there's a mostly intact brick ruin just north of your position," she said over the com. "You'll have to make a break for it: it's your best bet for cover. Delta squad, join up with them there."
More gunfire echoed through the night. Rachel didn't know if her beleaguered soldiers had received the orders, or if they were even still alive. The seconds that followed were long as she waited for any sign of life. None came. There was no reply at all. Rachel was about to issue new orders when on the tactical display Gamma squad began to move at last, heading for the ruin. A short distance behind them was Delta, moving steadily closer and ready to engage any pursuers. Rachel glanced up through her binoculars as her infantry converged on the brick ruin, hoping to get a glimpse of the enemy's movements.
She was just in time to witness a second flash of light, followed by another roaring explosion like the first.
Cold shock flooded Rachel's body. The enemy had known how she would respond, she realised. They had lured her into a fight and made sure that the most promising cover was another trap. She swore again, more colourfully this time. Someone was toying with her, and the men and women under her command were paying the price.
"Anyone on the ground, report!"
A garbled layer of distorted sound came through, then cleared. "– Delta leader –" For a moment the signal dropped again. "– heavy casualties, can't hold out –"
With that, the signal cut off completely.
The dread pounding through Rachel's veins grew a little louder as she considered the situation. Now, she had to either send in more troops to relieve her infantry, or leave them to die. It wouldn't have been a choice at all, but for the fact every instinct in Rachel's body was screaming at her that doing so would trigger another trap.
"Recon One, your status? Do you have eyes on Delta?" She asked.
"Affirmative, Commander. They've taken three casualties and are sheltering behind a fence. We're laying down suppressing fire, but there are too many of them. Counterattacks have inflicted light damage. What are your orders?"
The obvious course of action was to commit her armoured cars and tanks to clear out the enemy troops, but after the course the night had taken, Rachel was sure that would only get her stuck in a losing battle. She needed to break the pattern, but she wasn't yet willing to abandon the survivors, either. Thinking rapidly she came up with a plan that might just let her do both. Taking a deep breath to steel her nerves, she turned to the lieutenant.
"Send word to our artillery that I want a targeting pattern laid in to bombard the south half of town. Don't fire until I give the order."
He looked at her warily. "Our men are still down there, ma'am."
"I know." Rachel looked away and activated her com. "First and second tank groups, move in immediately. Fire on the enemy infantry, but be ready to disengage. When I give the word, I want you out of there faster than I can blink!"
She paused, tracking the icons on the map as her tanks began to move.
"Recon One, listen up. On my mark you're going to rush Delta's position, pick them up along with any survivors from the other squads, and then get out. Pull back to coordinates 24, 29 alongside our tanks."
"Acknowledged, Commander."
Rachel stared at the tactical display with perfect focus, tracking the movement of her units. Her tanks were halfway down the hill now. Time to make her move.
"Mark!" She said clearly.
At the base of the incline, tanks and recons raced towards the town's edge. The deep burst of the tank mounted guns reverberated through the night, drowning out the sound of the enemy fire. Rachel watched as Recon One came to a stop on the display, carrying out their orders. Her heart skipped a beat. Her troops were committed to the fight now, and if her instincts were accurate, then any moment now –
"Incoming!" The panicked shout burst over the com. "Md tanks incoming!"
"Where the hell did they come from?"
Right on cue. Rachel allowed herself a grim smile as her units began to move again, heading away from the town at full speed. There was only the faint rumble of engine noise echoing through the cool night air – no explosions, no gunfire, and certainly no cannon blasts. They'd done it.
"Recon One, are you under pursuit?"
"No, Commander. They're still inside the town."
Rachel's smile widened. "Understood. Good work, everyone." She glanced sideways. "Signal our artillery to open fire."
The lieutenant gave a single nod and issued the order. A few seconds later, the distinctive, heavy crack of artillery cannons launching their deadly payloads reached her ears. Rachel lifted the binoculars and looked towards the town. She did not have to wait long. Explosions thundered out, mingling with the steady beat of cannon fire in a strange sort of destructive symphony. By the bright flashes of the artillery blasts Rachel could see old houses being blown apart, could see the enemy's medium tanks moving awkwardly as they tried to take cover. There was none to find. The second volley impacted directly on their position, and even by the warm glow of burning spot fires Rachel could clearly see three of the hulking vehicles reduced to charred shells.
"Keep firing on that area," she ordered. "I'm not taking any chances. Everyone, pull back to our starting perimeter and observe the town. If anyone tries to make a run for it, shoot them."
With difficulty Rachel pulled herself into a more upright position and began to massage her right leg. Her injury hadn't hurt for days now, but her mobility was restricted enough that staying prone for too long made her whole leg ache. She kept an eye on the computer as she did, scanning the reports as they came in. The Md tanks were confirmed destroyed, as were some IFVs and a squad of anti-air vehicles that had been lurking further in. An APC and several tank groups sheltering in the ruins were caught and obliterated. Three Black Hole infantry squads had made a break for it and run straight into a volley of gunfire. Rachel sent the order for her artillery to cease fire. Most of the town was reduced to rubble; there was nowhere left for Black Hole to hide.
Nowhere except the warehouse.
Rachel shook her head as it occurred to her that everything had come full circle. It had been the abandoned warehouse that first aroused her suspicions, three days earlier when she and Max had been studying the region. They had been looking for anywhere the enemy could have been moving troops through southern Orange Star, and the old warehouse had been at the top of the list. Rachel couldn't imagine a more perfect base for covert operations – not only was it isolated and forgotten, it was big enough to store a variety of equipment and supplies, or even serve as a makeshift barracks. Originally, the plan had been to capture the warehouse and any secrets it housed, but Rachel knew now that was far too risky. Considering what had happened so far that evening, Max was probably right about the Neotanks.
Rachel could only see one sensible course of action: level the whole building with artillery fire, along with anything inside. If they were lucky, sifting through the debris might still yield some clues about Black Hole's movements. With that in mind she turned to face the lieutenant.
"Tell our artillery to lay in a new firing pattern. When I give the order, I want that warehouse blown to bits."
The officer hesitated, staring at her. "Ma'am… we've got an incoming transmission."
"From Nell or Max?" Rachel asked.
He shook his head. "It's not an Orange Star signal, ma'am."
"I see," she said, unable to keep a startled look from coming over her. "Put it through to me."
Rachel made sure to gather all her strength in the brief moment it took for the officer to transfer the signal, bracing herself for what was about to come. She was half expecting to confront Flak, and the thought made her blood run hot with fury. Rachel hadn't fought in the Second Great War, but she'd been keenly aware of the damage Flak had done to their country. To Orange Star he was the enemy, even more so than Sturm in some ways. Flak was the one who had come into their homeland and tried to steal it, and when that had failed, like a brutish child he had settled for doing all he could to break it.
Rachel glowered as the signal was put through, suddenly unsure if she could control herself in the event Flak made contact. She need not have worried. As the com link came online, Rachel faced a man who could not have been more different from Flak. He was thin, gaunt, and deathly pale, with sunken eyes that gleamed with malevolent intent. Rachel recognised the man from his file.
Adder.
"Well, well," he spat, "what have we here? The lesser sister of Orange Star's dear Commander-in-Chief."
Rachel glared at him. "Lesser sister? Excuse me?"
"I suppose you're feeling rather clever, aren't you?" Adder continued, a bitter little grimace overcoming his lips. "Don't. You were lucky tonight, nothing more."
"Like my greater sister always says, luck is a skill!" Rachel shot back, growing angrier with this snide snake of a man by the second. "Who are you to talk, anyway? Black Hole doesn't have the best track record. You lost hard the last few wars hard."
"And yet here we are, stronger than ever." Adder flashed her a vicious little grin. "All little minds like yours can see are these paltry victories, when it's the big picture that really matters. You're incapable of grasping the true genius of Black Hole."
"Hey, you stuck-up wretch! Just what is that supposed to mean?"
"Soon the whole world will be painted black." He let out a short laugh. "Perhaps I'll do you the honour of making you my personal slave."
"Slave?" Rachel repeated, her voice rising to a shout. "You're delusional, you sick creep! I'd die before I let you lay a finger on me!"
Adder's expression fell. Quickly he recovered his composure, hissing at her like a snake. Ridiculous, Rachel thought. There had been a time, not too long ago, when she had believed that no one could possibly possess such strange affectations. That was before she had met Javier, though at least the Green Earth Commander had a heart of steel-clad gold.
"Watch your temper, foolish girl," Adder snarled. "I like my underlings to show proper respect."
Rachel stared at the purple haired man's image on the computer, almost apoplectic. Adder was perfectly serious, she realised. This wasn't some kind of twisted joke; he meant every word. Rachel could only shake her head, mute, as she struggled to comprehend how anyone could be at once so vile, and at the same time so petty.
Adder seemed to take her silence as proof he'd won the exchange, judging by the nasty smile that flitted over his face.
"Tell me, do you actually believe that messy hair of yours is flattering?" He gave another short laugh. "Or are you just too stupid to master a comb?"
Rachel's eyes bulged, and she could not keep herself from putting a hand to her strawberry blonde hair. It's not that messy, she told herself. Or was it? Jake had always said her look was cute. Military chic, he'd called it. Shaking her head she pushed the doubt away and fixed all her fury on Adder.
"What is it with you pasty faced Black Hole freaks and insulting people's looks?" She burst out. "Have you looked in a freaking mirror lately? You're not winning any beauty contests, creep!"
Adder didn't reply. He simply laughed at her outburst, apparently satisfied with provoking her. Something inside of Rachel snapped in that moment, and she decided that she wasn't going to waste any more time trading barbs with this wretched excuse of a man. She glanced to the lieutenant.
"Signal our artillery." She looked back at Adder. "Fire."
Rachel severed the com link. Adder's pale face vanished, but not before she saw him struck by a flash of uncertainty. The sight brought her no small degree of satisfaction.
As the sound of artillery fire resumed, Rachel looked up from the computer, craning her neck to stretch her aching muscles. Her blood still ran hot from her exchange with Adder, but it was starting to cool, and with that came the growing unease that perhaps his boasting hadn't been entirely empty. He'd claimed it was the big picture that mattered rather than the small victories, and just a little earlier, Rachel herself had been thinking that the only way Black Hole's actions made sense was if they were part of something much bigger. There was more to this, that much was clear.
The first shells impacted the warehouse. Explosions reverberated throughout the night, and the building began to crumble. A moment later there came a bright flash as another of Black Hole's traps was triggered. Rachel shut her eyes tight, listening as the mighty roar of the blast drowned out the artillery bombardment. Another of the detonations followed, then a third. Rachel signalled her troops to cease fire, and then there was silence.
She opened her eyes and looked through her binoculars to see that the warehouse was simply gone. In its place was a field of blackened debris marked by burning spot fires. It was over. All that was left now was for a forensic team to scour the town, and for Rachel to report what had happened to Nell. If nothing else, Adder's involvement was another clue to add to their growing collection.
As she reflected upon the events of the night, Rachel found herself unsure what to make of them. She couldn't shake the feeling that Adder had let slip more than he'd meant to when boasting about the bigger picture. Still, that did not change what had happened tonight: paltry or otherwise, she had won a victory, despite what it had cost. Rachel was fully aware they were on the defensive, responding to the enemy's movements rather than taking the initiative. There was no denying that, but for the time being, they had few alternatives. Whatever larger design Black Hole was pursuing remained unclear, and until they had more information, there was simply nothing they could do but face each battle as it came.
Rachel looked up at the sky. The smoke rising from the town had shrouded the night sky in a dirty haze, but it was beginning to dissipate, and high above, she could see a single star holding strong against the dark. Rachel felt her resolve grow as she looked up at the heavens. She doubted it was the intended effect, but Adder's taunts had only made her more motivated to see their enemy defeated. One way or another, they would get to the bottom of this mystery, and put an end to Black Hole.
Once and for all.
