Chapter Nine:
Right now, the only thing he wanted was his wife and son. That was the last thing he was going to get. The prison he stayed at was bad, but the labor camp was even worse.
He walked down the bleak gray corridor. The brief period of sleep he received everyday was over, and it was back to another awful day. Many men stepped out of there cells, and he saw the dead looks in their eyes.
He and the other labourers walked into the work room. A roaring hot furnace sat at the end of the room, and the workers moved pieces of metal in and out of it. He took his place at an assembly belt leading out of the furnace.
Pieces of hot platinum where taken out of the furnace and down the belt. He struck the soft pieces with a hammer, flattening it out, and handed it off to the next person. He could feel the intense heat from the furnace, and each swing made his arm ache.
The White Lotus guards and Triads watched carefully. He did not falter, despite wanting so badly to rest. He knew what would happen if he slacked off. Clang clang clang, went his hammer, the noise joining the cacophony in the room.
He looked in the cold eyes of the White Lotus guards, and the cruel smirks of the Triads. He wanted nothing more than to see them at the business end of his hammer. Seeing the tool turned against them. He then imagined himself being burned, drowned, suffocated, or buried.
With all the physical exertion and heat, his face began to sweat. It dripped down his forehead and onto his cheeks. He wanted to wipe it off, but he could not stop working for anything. As the sweat got in his eyes, the hammer began to miss.
A White Lotus guard menacingly approached him and glared at him. He looked up with his blurry vision and tried to explain himself. Another guard walked over and waved his hand in front of his face.
With that the sweat was gone, and he could see. "Back to work" the guard snarled.
He didn't need to be told twice, and went right back to ponding the hot metal. He summoned all of the remaining strength in his tired muscles and continued through yet another terrible day.
Arashi strolled into the display room and was greeted by a small group of large armor suits. He looked at them closely, "Show me what they can do."
"A White Lotus soldier approached one. He pressed a button and a hatch opened up on the back. The soldier stepped in and the mecha began moving. It walked across the room, and turned around. It walked back towards Arashi and the engineers.
The mecha continued to walk back and forth, picking up speed each time. Soon it reached a brisk pace. "What else can it do?" asked Arashi.
A hatch on the hand opened up, and the mecha threw a punch. A blast of fire came out of the hatch. A group of targets lowered from the ceiling and the mecha threw blasts at them, setting them ablaze. A ring of targets dropped down and the let out a sheet of flame, then spun around.
The mecha then stepped aside and another soldier climbed in another one. With a few swipes he formed a pair of water whips. Various formations of targets lowered down and the whips cut and slashed throw them. A wide swipe took down a row of targets and the mecha swiped upwards at a high hanging target.
A few more targets appeared across the room and the mecha shot icicles at them. More came down, but the rapid fire cut them down while they were still descending.
After this a third mecha stepped into action. It charged forward and pumped it's arms. With each swing a set of steps appeared from the floor. The mecha deftly climbed the steps and then smashed a large target. It then fell to the floor and cratered in when it landed.
The mecha then turned around and punched the steps, and cracked in half. The halves fell the floor and fell apart. The mecha swung its arms and threw the pieces of rubble across the room at a group of targets.
Finally one more mecha stepped into action. It swirled a ball of air and threw it to the ground. It expanded into a huge air scooter, which the mecha proceed to ride. It rode around the room, faster and faster. The scooter began hugging the corner, and slowly moved on to the wall.
The mecha then jumped down from the ceiling and landed on a cushion of air. Arashi quite pleased with the results. He then glanced side to side at the engineers. "So when is mass production?" he asked.
"As we speak the labor camps are producing the platinum armor." one of the engineers replied.
"But not the robot suits themselves."
"The components are a bit more complicated." the engineer said as he looked at his clipboard. "It will be about a month before we can make them in mass."
What Arashi really needed was an army of these, but maybe a few as shock troops would suffice.
Isuel stood out on the street surveying the situation. A couple of Resistance members stood on the street, keeping watch. Making a move on them, would result in much more joining them. Ever since the prison break the Resistance had swelled in numbers. The Triad gangs had lost large amounts of their territory, and the Red Monsoons were hurting the most.
Suddenly Isuel heard a loud sound coming near him, it was loud footsteps. He turned around and saw a group of White Lotus soldier lead by a mecha. He had heard of those things, but they were taboo since Kuvira's attack.
The mecha ignored Isuel and continued towards Resistance occupied territory. The two Resistance members on watch ran to fetch reinforcements. Isuel observed this, and considered joining in the action.
But then he had a better idea, this would be a perfect time to grab some territory from the Agni Kais. With the White Lotus not around to protect those flamers, he could regain much of the turf the gang had lost.
He approached Qing. "The White Lotus is tied up using their fancy toys on the Resistance. I think we can make a move on the Agni Kais."
With that they mustered up a group of Red Monsoon gangsters and marched towards Agni Kai territory.