11. The Only Easy Day Was Yesterday
The ship carrying six commandos and the two Keybearers silently flew towards the infested station. Pre-mission nervousness had everyone's heart rate up and breathing shallow. Once first contact was made, the jitters went away, but until then, everyone was jumpy and short-fused. Sora, Kairi, and the SEALS were all used to fighting against lopsided odds, which helped to keep some semblance of calm in the ship. Nobody was fooled by the façade, though; they could all tell that everyone else was loathing being stuck in a ship bound for a powerful enemy.
In an attempt to distract himself, Sora examined the suit being worn by one of the SEALS next to him. The armor, if it could be called that, had no discernable plates or reinforcement. It was all one piece of thick black fabric, but fabric unlike anything Sora had seen before. It had an odd sheen to it when the light hit it just right, as if the suit was made from a dark metallic weave. Sora shuddered when he realized how much the suit reminded him of the Heartless. Was it supposed to be a scare tactic? Did it provide the split-second of indecision on the part of the Heartless that the commandos needed to destroy them? Whatever it was, it gave Sora the creeps.
Kairi was unable to distract herself with anything, simply sitting in her seat against the ship's hull, drumming her fingers on her armored knee. To those close to Kairi, the simple habit spoke volumes. She only ever did that when she was nervous, a sensation she hadn't experienced in a very long time. Few situations on Aegis included any kind of real danger. The fact that they had narrowly escaped death less than a day ago did not serve to comfort her at all.
Other than the sound of Kairi's fingers tapping the armor plating of her suit, the ship was absolutely silent. There was no noise from the engines, as they were simply letting their momentum carry them closer to the station. Any firing of the thrusters would show up on the station's defensive sensors, and nobody knew if the Heartless were able to operate the antiaircraft cannons mounted all over the station. It was deemed a risk not worth taking.
Sora turned to look out the front of the cockpit and saw the Marathon taking up most of the view. He could make out individual windows on the station now, along with thick-barreled antiaircraft cannons that, thankfully, appeared to be offline. Sora let out an involuntary sigh of relief. He used similar cannons on some of his Gummi ship designs. They made up for their low rate of fire by packing a serious punch. Sora had seen those guns tear apart entire formations of ships caught unaware. If the Heartless could use them against the approaching boarders, the assault team would be decimated.
A sudden crackle in his helmet speakers made him jump. He didn't recognize the deep, booming voice, but the message it relayed was clear. "Operation is GO. Green light for SEALS infiltration."
With that, the ship's occupants quickly made a final check of their equipment and armor. Everything was fully sealed, weapons were loaded, radios worked. Infiltration was the most critical part of the entire operation, and it had to go off without a hitch.
Sora and Kairi's ship slowly drifted into the darkened hangar bay. Only part of it was visible, illuminated by sunlight. The rest was inky blackness. The ship quietly settled onto the deck near the edge of the shadow. One of the pilots hit a switch, and a whooshing noise filled the ship's cabin as the atmosphere was compressed into holding tanks in the wings. The pilot nodded to the back, and one of the SEALS opened the side hatch, peering into the darkness through a pair of goggles attached to his head. After what seemed like an eternity, his voice came over the radio.
"Infrared clear. Motion clear." He ducked back into the ship and waited for his orders.
The deep voice resounded in Sora's helmet again. "Copy, Lieutenant. Begin infiltration."
All the SEALS moved as one, rapidly unclipping themselves and exiting the ship. They quickly sought cover among the crates and abandoned ships in the hangar, sweeping the entire area for any sign of the Heartless. Sora and Kairi followed, staying close to the boarding craft. A second ship landed and released its cargo, the men slipping into the darkness like beads of oil on glass.
A silent strobe in the bay's corner caught Sora's attention, and he turned just in time to see the small cloud of dark energy that marked the destruction of a Heartless. He couldn't tell where the shot had come from; the operator responsible had already disappeared into the shadows.
The radio began giving rapid-fire instructions. "Bays one through six secured. Bays eight, ten, and eleven secured. Bays seven, nine, and twelve report minimal contact. Marine SF squads cleared to land in all secured bays. SEALS squads Alpha through Echo, prosecute objective PROMETHEUS. Squads Foxtrot through Kilo prosecute ZEUS. Do not engage enemy unless absolutely necessary. Keybearers await instruction from General Harris."
Sora and Kairi followed their instructions, glad that infiltration was going smoothly. Seconds after the first voice disappeared, the familiar sound of General Harris's voice filled the tiny speakers in the Keybearers' helmets.
"Keybearers are to prosecute objective KRONOS. Do not engage enemy unless attacked first. Upon completion of KRONOS, assist Marine Special Forces in seek-and-destroy."
Both Keybearers had the entire operation memorized. Objective KRONOS was to retake the Marathon's Command and Control center. It was considered the most untouchable part of any station. Unless they were able to get there undetected, they'd have to run a gauntlet of Heartless.
Kairi elbowed Sora in the side and tapped on her faceplate. Sora assumed she was asking the same question he was. "General Harris, how are we supposed to see in here? The lights-"
"Light amplification software has been uploaded to your suits remotely. It will engage when you enter an area too dark for visual navigation."
Shrugging, Kairi stepped into the darkness and was shocked by what she saw. The entire hangar bay suddenly appeared, but not in its normal state. She could see walls and objects around her, but they were covered in a faintly glowing green criss-cross pattern, as though someone had laid a grid over the entire station. It was enough for navigation.
She turned to Sora, who was outlined in gold and had a small Keyblade icon hovering over his chest. Beckoning for him to follow her, she slipped into the darkness, leaving him alone in the light. He cautiously stepped into the shadows. Kairi could tell exactly when his visual assistance activated, because he stumbled backwards and nearly fell onto the metal deck. When his heart rate dropped back to an acceptable level, he joined Kairi and walked silently towards the nearest door.
Olette was used to seeing Hayner in camouflage; it was his favorite thing to wear when they were kids. Most often he'd wear his ill-fitting camo pants, but he had several shirts and shorts with the iconic pattern. When he'd been conscripted into the Army, it wasn't a big shock for Olette to see him in an entire uniform of green, tan, and black.
Hayner, however, had never gotten used to seeing Olette in a Navy officer's service uniform. The boring tan blouse and trousers didn't seem to fit with the spunky, colorful girl. The only color Hayner could see on the entire thing was on the small campaign ribbons on the left side of the blouse, and they were hardly sufficient in his eyes. Not only that, but Olette despised formal attire, and the uniform looked like it was pushing it a bit. However, she liked it, so Hayner never said a word.
The two young lovers were putting the finishing touches on their uniforms before they were ordered to leave. A similar scene was playing out in millions of homes. All across Aegis, men and women prepared to mount a last stand that would determine the survival of all mankind. They hoped the Heartless would turn back, but they knew that the dark creatures never once left without a brutal fight.
Satisfied that his boots were properly tied, Hayner stood in front of the mirror and turned just a bit. He remembered the day he came home with his current patch. He had spent hours admiring the accomplishment. On his shoulder, there was a jagged lightning bolt with white angelic wings: the insignia of the 14th Urban Operations Division.
The blonde smiled and remembered why he had gotten into that division in the first place. 14th Urban Ops was renowned for their cutting-edge urban combat techniques. Hayner, having grown up roaming the streets of Twilight Town, was used to navigating tight alleys and moving across rooftops. He was a natural at adapting his childhood entertainment to keeping cities clear of Heartless.
The phone rang in the kitchen. Not the caller-ID enhanced black wireless phone they used for day-to-day calls, but the one-way red telephone reserved for official communications. It only rang a few times every year. Usually it was for emergency drills, but both Olette and Hayner knew today was no drill.
Hayner answered the phone, giving his rank and full name. He listened to the automated voice issue pre-recorded orders as part of a world-wide mobilization of all Army troops. After a minute of standing and listening, he hung up the phone, returning to the bedroom. Olette gave him a forced smile.
"What was that?"
Hayner picked up an olive drab rucksack, hoisting it onto his shoulder. "Troop transports are picking up all local troops at the parking lot of Crystal Palace Theaters in an hour. I've got to leave pretty quickly if I'm going to get there on time." He kept a straight face, desperately trying to hide his emotions. "I'm sure your call is coming soon."
No sooner had he said that than the phone rang again. Olette nervously smoothed her uniform and left the room, also trying to keep composure. After a few minutes, she returned, biting her lip in worry.
"Turns out I'm a little luckier than you. Junior officers are gathering at the Sonic Audio company headquarters rooftop downtown. We'll be airlifted by transport helicopters to our duty posts." She flashed a nervous smile. "Better than armored personnel carriers, right?"
"Yeah, it is." Hayner continued to keep a straight face. He shifted his rucksack on his shoulders and stepped towards his fiancée, kissing her lightly. "Goodbye."
"Goodbye." Olette watched silently as Hayner quickly exited the apartment. She ached to run after him and kiss him and tell him how much she loved him and that he had better come back in one piece. But she knew that if she went after him, she wouldn't be able to let go. So she stayed put long enough to let him leave the building.
When she was confident that he was gone, she grabbed her pack and left the apartment, locking the door behind her. It gave her an odd sense of finality to lock that door, as if she wouldn't ever walk back through it. She tried to convince herself it was just nervous paranoia and walked to the elevator.
Sora crept around the corner, keeping a low profile. On his visor, barely five meters away, a pair of Shadows stood with their backs to him. If he executed his next move perfectly, he could destroy them both without raising suspicion. If not, well… what should have been an infiltration mission would quickly turn into a desperate fight for survival.
He prepared to pounce. Though his armor weighed him down, his chosen method of extermination shouldn't be difficult. A quick horizontal slash would bisect both of the dark creatures without alerting any potential threats in the surrounding halls. Even if something was alerted, Kairi was right behind him, ready to silence anything about to raise the alarm.
The armored gauntlet tightened around the Keyblade's hilt, and he sprung forward, neatly cutting the Shadows in two. As soon as he finished his slash, he brought the Keyblade to bear once more, ready for any unseen enemies. The helmet visor showed no threats, no movement; no threat of any kind. The only thing on his Heads-Up Display was the direction of his objective.
Not that he needed the helmet software to point that out to him. Almost every intersection in the central part of the station had some indication of where the Command and Control center was. For a military installation, the entire place was fairly easy to navigate.
No, the problem was getting into the control room without turning their stealthy insertion into a battle of attrition. The pair of Keybearers had already had one close call with an unusually motivated group of Soldiers. If their helmets hadn't had a proximity warning, they'd be in the middle of a hack-and-slash battle royale. Sora made a mental note to thank General Harris for their suits.
According to his waypoint marker, C&C was 45 meters away. This is where the Air Force intelligence analysts had said things could turn ugly. Until this point, the odds were in favor of staying undetected. From now on, their chances of discovery increased exponentially. Their biggest hope was that the SEALS squads would start distracting the Heartless enough to allow the Keybearers to slip by unnoticed and lock the Heartless out of the control room. If things went according to plan, the naval commandos were only seconds away from their objectives.
Kairi had refused to let Sora be dragged back into the conflict without a backup plan. General Harris had assured her that if they got in over their heads, stealth and caution would be thrown to the wind and the Marines would board immediately. Satisfied that even if they were detected, they would most likely still accomplish their objective, the two Keyblade wielders pressed forward.
They crept through the darkness in formation, ready to jointly attack anything in their way. Halfway to the next intersection, their helmet radios came to life.
"SEALS squad Gamma in place. Awaiting clearance to prosecute objective ZEUS."
The deep voice from earlier replied quickly.
"Copy, Gamma squad. Execute on my mark."
Five seconds ticked off Sora's mission clock. Then,
"Mark!"
To Sora, it seemed anticlimactic. Not only was the SEALS squad was nowhere near him, but they were using suppressed weapons. Still, some small part of him had still expected to hear muffled gunshots or muzzle flashes from their rifles. Instead, the hall was just as dark and silent as before. He tapped Kairi on the shoulder and pointed to a recessed door. The pair slipped into the small alcove and hid, waiting for the SEALS to attract more attention.
Precisely one minute and twenty-one seconds later, the commandos reported in again.
"Objective secured. Foxtrot and Kilo squads are onsite. No enemy contacts reported. Requesting orders."
There was a short pause before a reply was given.
"Hold position until objective PROMETHEUS is captured. Stand by for new orders."
An insistent alarm sounded in Sora's helmet speakers. He recognized it as the proximity alarm from earlier. On his faceplate, the jerky motions of Shadows moving along the hall were highlighted in red. He tensed himself for combat, but the figures turned down another hall, following the arrows marked POWER CORE. He immediately broadcast a warning to the SEALS.
"Be advised, Gamma squad, hostile contacts heading your way. Over."
"Copy that, Keybearer. Hostiles inbound. Thanks for the heads-up."
Sora and Kairi continued down the hallway to the next junction. Everything was dead silent in the dark corridor, even the footfalls of their armored suits. The absolute stillness of their surroundings had desensitized them to the complete lack of noise. Both of their hearts skipped a beat when a massive explosion rocked the corridor under their feet.
The HUD on their visors lit up with motion contacts as Heartless swarmed out of every part of the station. The pair ducked into a recessed door and readied themselves for combat. The Heartless, however, passed the pair by without stopping. All of the black creatures were barreling towards the power core. Several even looked directly at them and simply continued on their way. As if on cue, the helmet radios came to life with an explanation.
"Gamma squad to Keybearers. We're drawing them away from you. Proceed at top speed to C&C on my mark."
The swarm of Heartless passing the alcove slowed to a stream, then to a trickle, and then disappeared, a lone Shadow bringing up the rear. Sora and Kairi turned to each other in shock. Sora was first to shake of his speechlessness.
"That… that worked? That never works!" he blurted, wide-eyed. All Kairi could do was shake her head and shrug in surprise.
"Mark! Move!"
The Keybearers sprinted from their hiding place towards their last turn before they arrived at the station's brain. They reached the heavy door and radioed their position to the deep-voiced strike commander.
He acknowledged them several seconds later. "Copy. India squad, activate core."
The lights flickered on all over the station. In front of the pair of Keybearers, the door controls went through a short diagnostic scan before flashing the red 'lockdown' status symbol on the small display above the palm scanner and keypad.
"You should be able to open the door now, Keybearers," the commander said. "Now let's get this station back."
Sora willed his Keyblade to unlock the door. Automatically, it pointed the tip of its blade at the keypad, moving Sora's arm with it. A laser-fine beam emanated from the magical blade, and the display shifted from lockdown-red to green. The metal door hissed and slowly slid into the wall, revealing a darkened room. The pair cautiously walked inside, Keyblades at the ready.
Suddenly, the door slammed shut behind them, plunging the room into total blackness again. The HUD visual enhancements started to activate, but before it had time to display the room, the lights switched on, and Sora and Kairi found themselves staring down the barrels of many, many rifles.
"Hayner! Good to see you again, dude!"
"Right back at you, Ari." Hayner exchanged a fist bump with his fellow corporal. He and Ari had met in basic training, and they had been in the same squad since then. Though they were in charge of separate fire teams, they rarely strayed from each other in training scenarios. Their tactics were unpopular with the newly-commissioned lieutenant in command of their platoon, but their sergeant thought it was a good idea. As a result, Hayner and Ari stayed together, and the lieutenant didn't say anything.
"It's just too bad this isn't another training mission," Ari said, a wide grin on his dark face. "We're on a roll against Bravo Company. And you owe them for that sleazy bit their captain played on you."
Hayner remembered the incident with a scowl. "Yeah… I remember you nearly fell over laughing at that. Thanks, by the way."
Ari was about to reply, but a loudspeaker cut them off. "14th Urban, 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Battalion, Alpha Company; load onto transports Delta 1-1 through Delta 1-14."
The pair of corporals picked up their heavy packs and climbed into an armored transport along with their fire teams. Once the entire company was inside the eight-wheeled vehicles, the hatch was closed behind them and the heavy diesel engine rumbled to life, shaking the troops inside. Hayner leaned towards Ari to speak.
"So I heard they're running out of flamethrowers for us grunts. How 'bout that, huh?"
Ari smiled and shook his head. "Only in the Army, man. Only in the Army."
The driver, a senior sergeant, piped in. "They've started issuing those space rifles that the Marines love so much. Stock up on ammo when you get it, because the Corps isn't giving any more than they can get away with."
"Oh, that's perfect. Now we're stuck with Marine equipment," Hayner quipped. All eight soldiers shared in an over-exaggerated groan of disgust before falling into the laughter that an Army grunt only got from making fun of the Marines. The cross-branch rivalry was still alive and well.
A bump rocked the transport, signaling that they had left the road and were moving to a field rally point. Hayner strained to see out the front windscreen. They were approaching a small range of wooded mountains. From many training exercises, Hayner knew that on the other side of the mountains was a desert. The rally point was likely in there, giving lots of space for tanks and helicopters and all sorts of big, mean pieces of machinery.
Ari tried to break the awkward silence that had enveloped the vehicle. "So when was the last time any of you used a full-sized rifle?"
Answers of "At least a year" and "Damn, I don't remember" were the only things he got. Hayner shook his head. "It sure figures that we get the one piece of equipment that we haven't trained on since basic training."
"Hey, you never know," Ari said, "maybe you'll get one with one of those little 4X scopes on it. You can find a hole and do your sniper thing."
"Yeah, like my aim is still that good."
Conversation continued for the next half hour as the column of armored personnel carriers traversed the mountains. When they finally made it to the rally point, the rear door fell open and the two fire teams pounded down the exit ramp. What they saw made them gape in awe.
They had expected to see the familiar Army tanks, trucks, and helicopters. But there were thousands. Columns stretched for miles into the desert. Helicopters, both transport and attack, swarmed in the sky.
Ari was the first to respond. "Holy… They really brought out everyone. I see Armored guys, there's some Airborne, some Air Assault, the other Urban is over there, Infantry… There's even a Special Forces group by those choppers."
Hayner shook his head in disbelief. "There must be half the Army here. And check it out," he said, pointing off to their right, "those are Marines. And the Air Force is here. Look at all those damn jets! Even ODN has a few guys here."
The desert was alive with movement. As the pair of corporals made their way to the rest of their unit, they saw members of every branch. Everyone was moving with a sense of urgency unseen in usual mobilizations. One of Hayner's men caught up to him, his face betraying a hint of worry.
"They're really serious, aren't they?"
"Looks that way. What the hell happened to warrant this?"
Ari had to yell to be heard over the roar of helicopters overhead. "Must be the goddamn apocalypse to bring all of these guys way out into the desert like this. Did Sora tell you anything?"
Hayner shook his head. "Haven't heard from him in a couple of days. Not really surprised. He must be hella busy."
"How about our other half? Say anything?"
He shrugged. "She's as confused as me. Probably halfway to her ship by now."
In fact, Olette was all the way to her ship by the time Hayner reached the rally point. Her helicopter, loaded with other junior officers, had touched down on the deck of the ADS Javelin five minutes ago, and Olette was already at her post, inspecting and arming antiaircraft missiles for the ship's bow batteries. She prided herself on never having a safety violation in her work, and it was more vital than ever today.
The Javelin would be part of the defensive network for one of the largest cities on Aegis, populated by fourteen million people. Its primary duty, should it be necessary, was to intercept any Gummi ships the Heartless would use to destroy defensive emplacements around the city while the evacuation was underway. Nobody knew anything for certain, but rumor had it that the Heartless had warped a fleet of unforeseen magnitude from almost two light-years away. Everybody knew that if they went to all the trouble to gather such a huge fleet, they would be bringing the big guns.
But the enemy would run into a meat grinder when they arrived. Even if they managed to get past the orbital platforms and battlegroups, they would find themselves trapped in the planet's gravity well with high-altitude missiles and interceptors slamming them from the moment they entered the atmosphere. The defense of Aegis would, hopefully, be fought miles above the surface.
If the Heartless reached the ground, they would have to contend with the combined forces of Aegis's Army and Marine Corps, which totaled over eighty million troops. Though nobody had successfully fought the Heartless on the ground since the destruction of Organization XIII, nobody had gathered such a massive force before. It was anyone's guess as to who would triumph planetside.
The final fallback option was a total nuclear strike on all known Heartless locations. The civilian shelters were designed to withstand a direct strike for that exact purpose, and the fallout from the modern weapons wouldn't outlast the shelters' supplies. If it meant survival against such a fleet, the people of Aegis were prepared to sacrifice everything they knew.
Olette prayed that she wouldn't hear the alarm signaling the beginning of a nuclear attack. It was the final stand for Aegis, and if it didn't work, the world would fall.
INCOMING TRANSMISSION
ENCRYPTION SCHEME "ALLOY"
/BEGIN RAPID DECRYPTION… DONE
CONTENTS:
-Sensor Network Hub "SkyEye" PRIORITY TRANSMISSION
WARNING!
WARP ARRIVAL DETECTED!
PROXIMITY: 1500 km
MASS: 720,481,200 kg
COMPOSITION: -98.54% WORLD BARRIER ("GUMMI BLOCK")
CONCLUSION: HEARTLESS GUMMI FLEET
RECOMMENDATIONS:
-ALERT ODN COMMAND IMMEDIATELY
-ALERT AEGIS JOINT FORCES COMMAND
-SCRAMBLE HIGH-ORBIT DEFENSES
-TARGET FLEET CAPITAL SHIPS: PRIORITIZE CENTER OF FORMATION
-EVACUATE CIVILIAN POPULATION FROM CITIES
-LOCK DOWN GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS
CONTACTING ODNCOM… STANDBY…
CONTACT ESTABLISHED. BEGIN RECORDING.
ODNCOM: This is ODN Command. We have you.
SkyEye: WARNING! WARP ARRIVAL DETECTED!
ODNCOM: Send data.
SkyEye: DATA SENDING… SENT.
ODNCOM: What the hell? Are these numbers right? Seven hundred and twenty million kilograms? Holy shit! (yelling, aside) Sir! We've got a problem! (indistinct) Huge! Seven hundred and twenty million kilos. Should I contact the station commander nearest to the jump? (indistinct) Aye aye, sir. (also aside) Lieutenant, contact the commander of the Phoenix. Alert him to the situation and clear him to fire at will.
SkyEye: ENEMY FLEET WILL BE IN RANGE IN 25 MINUTES.
ODNCOM: Roger, SkyEye. 25 minutes to main cannon range.
SkyEye: 2ND FLEET WILL BE ON STATION IN 41 MINUTES. 5TH FLEET WILL BE ON – WARNING! PROXIMITY ALERT!
ODNCOM: Proximity alert? What's going on?
SkyEye: HIGH-SPEED PROJECTILE INBOUND!
ODNCOM: How is that even possible? The fleet won't be in firing range for their weapons for at least a half an hour. And that's if the orbital-
E8,]!~_r_=&%'x
CONTACT LOST. RETRYING… FAILED.
CONTACTING AEGIS JFC… STANDBY…
WARNING! HIGH-SPEED PROJECTILE INBOUND!
ORIGIN: ODN PLATFORM Marathon
BEGIN EVASIVE MANEUVERS
IMPACT IN 5… 4… 3… 2… 1…
-&i/":s\|,~3`#$)(8
eeeeeeeeerxdz DIRECT H_IT
InITaTe?/ FAilSAFe
DETONATE
xz#
Wow. It's been a long time since I updated this. I mean… a really long time. Holy crap. I am so sorry.
Well, life kinda hit me in the face with a shovel. I finally have time to write again. Okay, that's a lie. I was too busy for 3 months, forgot for 5 months, and just finished this chapter. The next one will not take more than 3 weeks, I promise. Such a lapse in updating will not occur again. Thank you for the people who have been so patient with me.
The end is near… and by near I mean next. Let's wrap this up with a bang!