So, remember how three years was a long time, how about FIVE.
If you're interested in Authors Notes I'll save them for the end, but for now I'll simply thank everyone who still followed any notifications back to this story. Welcome back everyone.
Chapter Fourteen: Allies and Chaos
Day 3
Date: Wednesday, 1st month, 1017th year D.A.
Location: Zintis: Zayu Valley - The Pits
Time: Roughly 22:14 S.S.T. (Standard Sanctuary Time)
Yeman
Yeman was going to die in here. Dark cave hidden underground, surrounded on all sides by hardened criminals that had every reason to want him dead, and no sign of the companions who had been on the road with him for the past few days. Right now it was just him, a small room of damp stone, a single rectangular steel table, and one empty chair across from him. Why did Riho insist I meet this guy alone?
Jacob Lara, an infamous Crime Lord of Blue Rift. Having gone by 'Dreamweaver' for decades before having his true identity revealed three years back. He had connections to every industry you could possibly think of, making money by selling weapons and information across Blue Rift. Responsible for the downfall of several wealthy individuals by selling their personal and security data to various vigilante groups. Mr. Lara probably knew more about Yeman than he knew about himself. Yeman clenched his fists tightly in a vain effort to stop himself from shaking.
There was no guarantee this deal was going to go well, and Yeman had accepted the possibility this deal would be the death of him, but he wasn't going to stand back and watch those kids be tortured by his nation, not if he had any say left in the matter. Throw him into the shadowed side of history for all Yeman cared.
The heavy sound of a latch on the opposite side of the room caused another bead of sweat to roll down the side of Yeman's face, his heartbeats so loud he could barely hear the footsteps that entered the room, only they sounded… light?
"So this is the former councilor looking to play the big strong hero?" The shock of hearing a seductive, feminine voice forced Yeman to lift his gaze from his clenched hands and look at the stunning figure in front of him. A woman standing as tall as he did, with silky white hair, strands of neon pink breaking the uniform color. Bright silver eyes staring right through Yeman. Her stance relaxed, shoulders loose, this woman dressed not as a hardened criminal, but in an elaborate white dress with details and trimming of the same neon pink, a comfortable loose hoodie hugging her shoulders, and two long blades attached to a belt on either hip. The woman licked her lips seductively.
"Well you've got spirit if nothing else big boy. It's not every day someone walks into a den of wolves who would be happy to turn him into a chew toy." She leaned over the table, getting within inches of Yemans face, the smile never leaving her lips.
"I- Forgive me but I- I don't think we've met before." For rift's sake keep it together! Do you want to die today!?
"Of course not." With a single motion, her face never leaving the close proximity she kept to Yemans, the woman slipped into the chair. "But the whispers about your stupidity circle the sewers of society. An un-ending whisper of the fool who threw away power and fame for a bunch of kids destined to die for a purpose that they only wish they could fulfill themselves."
Yemen's gaze focused as he returned the stare of this strange, seductive creature. "Whatever future those people are chasing is filled with the blood of innocent kids."
"And yet you won't bat an eye at sending child soldiers to fight your battles for you." The woman's smile curled into a conquering smirk. "Sweetie I'm afraid that makes you so much uglier than the rats who cast them out. At least they had bite."
The faintest echoes of the womans words echoed off the stone walls endlessly as they held the stare. Yeman wanted to run, every instinct screaming that he was staring into an abyss deeper and blacker than the most vile Thilan soul in existence. This woman was not just a mere siren, her presence was a walking apocalypse.
"Then I take it you're unfamiliar with the council's records on the Neo-Advancement Group." Yeman said. The former councilor felt an iron tang on his tongue after a slip halfway through, his heart in his throat.
The woman pulled back, leaning back in her seat and crossing her legs, looking down at her nails. "You're right" She said, "The politics of this boulder are boring, When I noticed that every single piece of flesh in that building was a boring old pile of bones, I simply didn't care anymore. Seventh."
"H- Huh?" Yeman could only stutter at the sudden shift in tone. The strange terror that eminated from the person sitting across from him was suddenly gone, replaced with a distance. Boredom? Vague Interest? Yeman had no way to tell for sure. It was at that moment the door opened again, this time in a rapid hurry as a large bear of a man towered in the doorway, wrinkled features and heavy gray beard breathing hard as he stared down at the two figures in the room.
"Oh is it that time already?" The woman said bored, turning to look up at the new figure. "I must've lost track of time."
Breathing heavily, the man let out a long sigh of… relief? His gaze instantly hardened on the woman. "Seventh." His voice boomed with a deep bass that seemed to shake the room. "I believe I'd forbidden you from wandering these halls freely."
"Strange words Mr. Lara. I don't recall you being able to back up such a request." Seventh tapped a finger against her lower lip, her smile still plastered on her face.
"You're right. But I still remember Fifth giving me permission to call the man with your leash if you didn't behave." Mr. Lara stepped into the room and to one side of the door, a clear sign of dismissal. Seventh let out a heavy sign and for the first time her expression soured.
"Alright alright, I'd rather not get him involved so I'll cooperate." Seventh hopped out of the chair with all the grace of a fox. "I've already got what I needed anyway, I'd suggest keeping him around Mr. Lara, that mouse might turn out to be quite the snake." With a wink at Yeman, she left the room.
For all the presence Mr. Lara had held in the first minute of his entry into the room, both he and Yeman shared a visible deflation once the door had closed. Oddly enough, it seems this odd encounter had relaxed Yeman. Though if he had a choice he'd definitely not go through that again.
Mr. Lara turned to Yeman. "So you know, I came in here ready to attack your character and find out what kind of balls you were packing, but after that…" The massive man shrunk four feet as he melted into the chair. "I don't have the energy. That damn woman doesn't start any fights, doesn't mess with any of my plans, and doesn't even let out the slightest hint she's a traitor, and she still manages to be a walking tornado."
"I think I get what you mean." Yeman breathes, his lungs finally working again. "It was like she was staring right through my soul."
"Fucking swear she creeps out every man, woman, and child in this installation and yet they're all obsessed with her." Mr. Lara shook his head.
"Who is she?" Yeman asked.
"I was hoping you'd be able to tell me, she and her two companions showed up out of nowhere a few years back. They don't do a damn thing but look through my reports and exchange information with me. Does the council have no idea who they are?" Mr. Lara, still spread out like an octopus, shifted his head to look at Yeman.
Yeman shook his head. "First I've ever encountered her."
Mr. Lara rubbed his index finger and thumb over his eyelids before sitting upright in his chair, extending a hand. "Well… mysterious women aside, Jacob Lara. I imagine you don't need much of an introduction from me."
Yeman returned the handshake. "Yeman Allan, and no. I appreciate you taking the time to see me."
"My pleasure Mr Allan. Call me Jacob, I prefer our discussion casual. So, you can skip the lengthy tale of how you ended up here. Our mutual friends have already given me most of the juicy and horrific details. I'll get right to the point, what do you think I have that can help you?"
"To be honest Mr- ah I mean Jacob. I'm not sure. Riho insisted I meet you face to face. I don't really have a goal in mind." Yeman nervously shifted his fingers.
"Hmm…" Yeman could feel Jacob's gaze, as if the large man was sizing him up. "You know for a politician you're not very diplomatic."
"It was the biggest complaint of my campaign advisors." Yeman admitted.
"So how'd you get elected?" Jacob asked, his face shifting into a curious smirk.
Yeman laughed. "You'd have to ask the people of the Gillion ward that. All I did was take to the streets every day and listen to people's problems."
"And take a rather shady deal with Councilor Jude." Jacob reminded, his tone darkening for a moment before the smirk returned. "I'm amazed you had the balls to turn on her, and even more impressive is that it took her this long to get back at you."
Yeman shrugged. "Yeah well… let's just say waking up to find my house covered in toilet paper and eggshells in exchange for a couple fancy cars wasn't why I became a politician. I want to do good by the people who live on this sanctuary."
"You were probably the only councilor in fifty years who was able to hold onto ideals like that." Jacob said, pointing a finger at Yeman.
Yeman shook his head, images of the last few years racing through his mind. Everything he'd helped build with Project Keeper, supporting them from the shadows so they could be the new defenders of Blue Rift. The moment when the council revealed project Guardian and threw them to the side like trash, the heartbreak at his responsibility and his failure.
"Ideals only get you so far when you're trying to swim up a waterfall." Yeman lamented. "But it's a great foundation. As long as those ideals hold, the ground you build the structure on will never break apart on you."
Jacob let out a light chuckle. "A nice philosophy, but you and I both know that no two people truly share the same ideals, and good goals will eventually give into corruption and evil, if not by you, then by those who follow in your footsteps."
The old man has a point. Yeman conceded. Our founders used this sanctuary to build a paradise for the people, look how well that's turned out. Mining strikes, using children for scientific experiments, tricking the general public into lining the pockets of the wealthy.
"Doesn't mean we shouldn't try." Yeman countered. "We can't take a nihilistic stance, and I personally refuse to give up on those kids."
"Well that just brings me back to my original question." Jacob folded his arms and leaned them against the table. "What do you think I can do for you?"
Having collected his thoughts, Yeman had gone through the motions in his head, the logistics and steps of what he believed needed to happen, taking inspiration from the leaders of Project Keeper and Riho's snap decision making over the last few days.
"Information." Yeman answered. "You've got eyes and ears all over this continent. You know what's going where. I need everything you can get me on the Keepers. Where they are, if they're doing anything besides fighting in an arena, which ones have gotten loose and where are they now. Any information you can get me on the death of White Rock Shooter."
Jacob stares at Yeman in bewilderment, and it takes a moment for the former councilor to realize that he'd probably just laid all of his cards on the table way too soon. He had very little to offer outside of the Keytonium and he had no idea if the old crime lord even needed any at all. Shit, please don't let me have screwed myself over.
If Yeman blew it here he'd be back to square one. Sure Pike could hack council databases and try and pinpoint Black's location, but there was no way he'd be getting anything on top secret or potentially lost Keeper research data that he didn't already have. Not to mention in the relief that followed Seventh's exit Yeman had allowed himself to drop his guard in front of a crime lord the Keepers were no doubt going to have a part in trying to bring down. Strengths words flashed through his mind. "Damn I just saved a former councilor? Jacob's not gonna be happy 'bout that."
Jacob pulling out a remote and setting it down on the table got Yemans attention. He looked at the old man with a questioning look.
"That," Jacob explained. "Is the kill switch for the generator hidden underneath your chair. Had I pressed just one button on this remote you'd be deep fried enough to feed a small Thilan army."
Yeman felt multiple beads of sweat roll down his forehead all at once. His heart was now instantly back in his throat.
"But, the fact that you were still alive by the time I got to you says a great deal about your character. Not to mention that if I'm being honest, this old man only has one person left he considers family." Jacob's nostalgic look left Yeman enough clues to put the pieces together. He once again held out his hand, his entire form rising to a towering height Yeman hadn't felt since before this whole mess started.
"Then I take it we're in this together?" Yeman asked.
The old man smirked and clapped his hand in the former councilors. "Aye. Let's give those kids a bright future, and stuff our boots right up the council's ass.
Day 3
Date: Wednesday, January 26th 2015
Location: Kheawuton: Khua, Southeast Rally Point - Abandoned Residential District
Time: Roughly 22:34 S.S.T. (Standard Sanctuary Time)
Whitestar
Staring down a massive city surrounded by hundred story tall walls, facing down a line of spinning spherical defensive turrets, and all while navigating a maze of a broken city definitely looked intimidating enough. The sparkling, spinning clouds of red energy each surrounded by two cube shaped wireframe cages of some type of metal stood tall at the top of the walls, daring anyone to come forward and try to take them out.
From where The Liberator sat he counted no less than seven along the wall near them, all out of range of the main gun. According to Black, the T.A.T. should be able to snipe them out from just out of range of the turret's deadly attacks, the only problem was the strategy he was now forced to work with. Being sent out as the vanguard for the attack was a decent plan, but only if they were being used as a distraction. Instead the entire plan was a reckless, forward assault. He questioned if the General really knew what he was doing.
Still it wasn't going to stop him. DJ and Rush were more than capable of acting as a forward guard while Rose and Winston picked off targets. That left Black in the driver's seat and White in the turret. Black seemed more than willing to go with the plan, but something gave White the impression she wasn't that impressed. Though with her expression being as stone cold as it was there wasn't a way to get an accurate assessment.
The Liberator hovered forward in silence, the tension's thickness only exceeded by Rush's increasing excitement. After several minutes shots began ringing out from the west. Seems we're not the ones to take the first shot. Several explosions could be heard as White panned the turret around to spot several buildings getting obliterated. Quickly following were three streams of bright red energy as the towers fired constant red beams that tore through the streets of the abandoned town. White could barely hear the screams of anger and defeat as Guardians were taken down one after another., entering the deadly stretch of no-mans land that would be the deaths of many. White sighed in disappointment. How many of them were screaming 'Leroy Jenkins' anyway?
The Liberator slowly came to a stop just inside the safety of the suburban maze, the main canon rising gloriously from its retracted state. "We are in firing range. It will take several moments for the cannon to be fully charged." Black informed.
"Rose, DJ, see anything?" White asked, looking around himself for any sign of movement.
"Not here." Rose reported. "I don't think they're onto us yet."
"That would be unlikely after what occurred during yesterday's battle. No doubt they are cutting us off from our allies before attacking." Winston guessed. Or worse, do to us what we did to them the other day, it's not like the armor on The Liberator will survive a large plasma blast.
"Cannon charged. Firing on the first target." Shortly after Black's words The Liberator rocked violently as the massive cannon on the front deck of the T.A.T. fired, a twisting pink and purple beam shooting out and slamming into the central tower. The metallic cage around it shattered and exploded, a minor event that was overshadowed by the massive red explosion that followed shortly after, taking out a massive chunk out of the top of the wall.
"Hells yeah one down probably a ton more to go!" DJ shouted.
"It is too early to celebrate." Black warned. "We must reposition, and no doubt the enemy is now advancing on us."
"Shit she's right!" Rose confirmed. "Several baddies from the west! Seem's Winston was right about their plan!" White spotted the targets laying low in a small building that looked like it housed several shots. Without needing to worry about property damage nor ammo, White was free to open fire on anything and everything he saw moving.
The Liberator lurched to the right, messing with White's aim as Black began moving them away from the battle. White attempted to compensate for the change in angle, but found himself shooting ground as the massive vehicle quickly righted itself and began moving backwards. White cursed under his breath as he spotted several figured move out of the buildings and try to chase after them before being quickly ripped to shreds thanks to DJ.
"Alright! Targets down!" He celebrated proudly.
"Glad to see you haven't lost your edge." Rush commented. Though neither were in sight thanks to Black's reckless driving behind a large apartment building.
"Black you need to slow down a little. I can't get a good shot with you driving like a madwoman!" White reminded her.
"That is of little concern. Our targets are not the foot soldiers chasing us." Black pointed out. White gritted his teeth.
"You're right but we also can't leave DJ and Rush behind! If they get swarmed It'll be impossible to retrieve the bodies later!"
"Yo lovebirds." Rose Interrupted. "I appreciate the argument but you mind watching your right? I can't pick all these guys off myself!" White scrambled out of his seat and through the access ladder to the other side of the T.A.T. to reach the other turret, where he saw swarms of Thilan troops beginning to open fire. After nearly tripping over himself to get into place he began returning fire, spraying hell on their enemy as each powerful bullet sent another Thilan flying backwards with holes in their bodies.
White's attention shifted as an explosion rocked the tank, lurching it to the left in a slight spinning motion after the frontside of the cannon was hit with a rocket. White quickly scanned the field, spotting a Thilan loading another rocket in a massive launcher only a second before his head exploded off his body.
"Damn Thilans are getting more and more sneaky!" Rose cursed.
"Just keep your eyes open. Winston, DJ, Rush where are you?" White asked.
"Look your girlfriend left us with a jam on our left flank! It's pouring with Thilans and we don't have a chance in hell of making our way back to you without getting killed!" Rush shouted, the sound of gunfire polluting her communication.
The Liberator rocked again as another blast erupted from its cannon, and a moment later a massive red explosion erupted from the top of the wall.
"Second turret down." Black reported. Fantastic. But we can't keep this up. Looks like they're targeting us.White needed a new plan. A holdout wasn't going to be possible with their ever changing landscape and swarms of enemies simply throwing themselves at his team. If the trio to the left got overwhelmed it wouldn't be long before The Liberator followed. With that apartment building now far to the left of them, and a swarm of suburban houses surrounding their current location, it wasn't hard to spot their location in an instant. In fact as White looked around there wasn't anywhere to go that didn't give them away. Stealth wasn't really an option.
"White take a look at that!" Rose got White's attention as White snapped back to reality.
"At what? I can't see you pointing dumbass!" White reminded the sniper.
"The shield behind the wall! Doesn't it look a bit weak to you?" White spun his turret around and looked over the shield as Rose continued to snipe out the straggling soldiers from the last wave of enemies. The shield itself was still mostly a bright red in color, however a growing section of purple had started to rise up from the space in between the two destroyed turrets.
"Good eye! Black change of plans! Target the space between the turrets!"
Black came over the headset as flat, monotonous, and bitter as ever. "Are you sure?"
"I know it's crazy but we need to blow the wall and start taking them our from the inside! Besides out here we don't stand a chance!" White replied quickly. "If we can turn the shield off from the inside of the base then the rest of the Guardians might be able to follow us in!"
"We won't be able to get the whole T.A.T. inside." Black informed him. "At most we will only be able to get two or three of us inside."
"Fine. Then you and I will go. DJ, we're coming around for a drive-by. The three of you will pile into The Liberator and you'll take over for Black."
"White, please do not tell me you are planning what I believe you to be planning." Winston sighed, no doubt already knowing the answer to his own question. White grinned to himself.
"Yeah, you got me. Black and I will infiltrate the Thilan city and track down whatever is powering these towers and shut them down, see if we can give the other players a chance to storm the city." White explained.
"Do you really think an army of new players are going to be able to take a fortress like this?" Winston asked.
"We'd better or it's bye-bye Blue Rift!" DJ pointed out.
Black was silent as The Liberator shifted its position, moving back through the streets the same way it had come from. That's when White spotted several more shapes moving along their right flank. Seems the Thilans hadn't given up quite yet.
"More enemies on the right!" White called before opening fire. For a moment his mind flashed to a stereotypical scene of these new arrivals actually being allies, but that theory was crushed the moment men in Thilan-red armor began eating his shots and dropping like flies. Another sniper round took down a soldier hiding behind a broken refrigerator with some kind of Thilan-styled RPG. Gritting his teeth White counted another four to five soldiers hiding in the rubble, none of which were well equipped to deal with the moving fortress they were situated in.
With hell raining on them White watched them move from cover to cover in a rather confusing pattern that seemed to be moving away from them. Even if they were retreating they wouldn't get any mercy from White, any Thilan that escaped them here may cause further damage down the road. With this in mind he opened fire recklessly, hoping to get lucky and tag a soldier with a stray, wildly aimed shot. While the plan was indeed reckless it did get some results as two of the soldiers took shots to the shoulder before Black moved them right through an intersection and out of visual range of his enemies.
The loud clacking sound of DJ's weapon slowly took over the sounds of the battlefield as Black made their way back down the ruined suburban street, White looking around at the two-story buildings with many collapsed sections and ruined furniture moved into the streets to act as barricades, cover, and an overall defensible position if it hadn't been for the massive tank that plowed through it all without a single care in the world.
Rose was the first to shoot as Black turned left back to the scene of DJ gunning down a small apartment complex, ripping apart tables, sturdy cabinets, and other cover to locate and tear apart Thilan soldiers. White spotted Rush moving through another building whose purpose was lost in the sheer amount of damage to the interior. From close quarters she smashed in the faces of unarmored backline soldiers who had been attempting to flank from behind. Winston, in typical assassin form wasn't seen at all but was no doubt causing chaos from within Thilan ranks.
"LERRRROOYYYY-"
"WHITE YOU SHUT YOUR DAMN MOUTH!" Rose quickly snapped, preventing White from finishing his battle cry as he let loose on the apartment complex, ripping apart some of the more sturdy parts of the building and taking out several Thilan soldiers taking cover. The remaining eight troops that had a line of fire on DJ turned to shoot The Liberator instead, only to be met with its rather overpowered shield.
White could tell the Thilan troops were desperate now. With Rose picking off their heavy troopers with ease, there was no one left to deal any meaningful damage to their moving fortress. The numbers were still small enough to be managed by veteran players of course, and Rose was one of the few in their group that still played first-person shooters often enough to be in practice. Still White knew that as time passed the waves of enemies were only going to get more dangerous. They needed to move fast.
With their enemy exposed White dropped three soldiers within the next two seconds, with DJ taking out another two. Rose eliminated a sixth, and two screams later White knew where his assassin had been hiding. The sounds of screaming and gunfire faded into the background of the nearby main battle as DJ, Rush, and Winston all quickly made a beeline for the Liberator, piling inside as the hatch closed.
Climbing down the ladder, he spotted DJ swapping in for Black as she explained to the Trooper what his task was. He nodded vigorously, though focused on what the Keeper was telling him White could tell he was probably half-focused on some wild daydream of his.
"White I still believe this plan is too reckless." Winston insisted.
"Do you have a better plan?" White asked. Winston shook his head and White put a hand on his shoulder. "Believe me man I know how you feel, but this is our best shot. The rest of you get over to the main battle and see what you can do - preferably without getting yourselves killed alright?"
"Don't worry bro I'll keep these idiots in check." Rush assured White with an evil grin.
"May I remind you that you're one of these idiots?" DJ called from his place in the driver's seat as Black walks up to stand next to the hatch entrance.
"Touche." Rush's grin only grew.
"The towers will begin shooting as soon as we leave the buildings." Black warned.
"Noted. DJ top speed man, show off those mad Burnout skills you were so proud of back in the day!" White called, grabbing onto a hand bar on the wall next to the hatch.
"Alright passengers, please keep your arms and legs inside the giant metal deathtrap and thank you for flying Air Blue Rift! Now let's HIT IT!" WIth that, White felt his grip immediately tested as The Liberator lurched forward at top speed. Though by no means a fast vehicle, the sheer force of the change in pace caused everyone but Black and Winston to briefly lose their balance.
Without a clear view of the outside, White could only guess what was happening by the sounds exploding around him. Loud, booming impacts shook the ground around them as the above turrets took shots at the now exposed hovercraft. White felt himself being shifted as DJ attempted to drift their way through the open no-man's-land. Time seemed to slow down, and White could feel a knot forming in his stomach as he waited for his team to be vaporized, or for him to be thrown from his position. White forced himself to take a breath as he felt the entire tank lurch as the Rock Cannon fired a third time, and the triumphant howl from DJ at the front helped undo the knot a little.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, I'm happy to report that the outer wall is doing about as well as a trash mob, consider the egg cracked wide open!" DJ laughed as The Liberator spun around, the force shifting everyone to the side as the craft spun around, the rear hatch opening to confirm what DJ had reported, the outer shield having shattered along with the wall itself, revealing a hole far too small for their heavy equipment, but big enough for a person to crawl through.
White stared out through the hole, and started to move forward before feeling a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Winston giving him a look of concern.
"Take it slow, don't let yourself be drawn into pointless battles, and stick to the plan." Winston said, keeping a firm grip on his leader's shoulder. White gave him a goofy grin and a thumbs-up.
"We'll be fine, but if I get back out here and find nothing but a pile of ash you're doing my homework for the next month." White gave a smug chuckle before stepping through the hole, finding Black had already gone through ahead of him. Once more into the fire.
So. Again, five years huh?
I went from wanting to rewrite everything, to wanting to keep it, and back again. Years went by and I was unsure what I wanted to do with BRSO, heck I wasn't even sure I could get back into writing it at all. I've graduated high school, gone through college, and started a new career. This chapter has been slowly in the works for the better part of five years, with the Whitestar section being written over time and the Yeman section being done in the last 24 hours.
I'll be honest, what's brought me back to BRSO is a need to practice my writing. I now run a pair of D&D campaigns for some wonderful people, but my characters and improv has felt like GARBAAAAGE. BRSO was always meant to be a series where I would practice my technique while writing something I enjoyed, and something you've all loved reading over the years. I'll still occasionally get review emails from this story, and every single time I think to myself, "I should come back to this." Well here we go. I need practice again, to resharpen the toolbox and make use of all the writing theory I've been studying over youtube for the last five years.
The tone of BRSO, the writing style, and probably the characters are all going to shift a bit. Not by conscious choice, but simply because I'm a different person than I was eight years ago when I started this project. (Feel old yet?) I'll do my best though, and hopefully you're all still along for the ride. Also don't expect any consistency, I do have two D&D campaigns and an RPG to make. But it shouldn't be five years this time.
Welcome back to BRS Online.
Love you all,
WillTheYordle