"The weather was good that day. The skies were completely clear, with no clouds on sight, and a warm summer breeze swept across the plains. It was a beautiful day indeed.
There was a small house near the fields. Its old walls crumbled under the weight of decades of neglect, only the ruins of the once cozy home remained... but the place wasn't as deserted as it seemed. Years had seen nature reclaim the house for itself and small animals like birds and rabbits making it their new home... and there, among the remains, were two little boys, playing around.
"Look at me, Valery! I'm a pirate!" The boys were very similar to each other. The two had the same blond hair and blue eyes, the only difference between them was their face. It was more than certain that they were brothers.
The younger one threw a defiant look at his brother and exclaimed.
"Then prepare yourself Alexei, because here comes captain Valery to stop you!"
"Try me!" They picked up two sticks and began playing, imagining they were real pirates.
The two ran around the place like crazy, swinging their sticks against each other. They exchanged blow and slashes alike, yet neither of them didn't seem willing to give up...
Like that, the boys continued clashing against each other, but soon their fight would come to an abrupt end when the younger brother saw something.
"Be careful, there's something moving there!"
Coming closer, they saw that among the rubble there was a snake, crawling on the floor. Valery seemed to be a little bit afraid of the reptile... but his brother wasn't.
"Look, it's a snake." He reached for his stick and extended it towards the animal. Upon seeing this Valery's eyes widened.
"Don't touch it, it could bite you!" He shouted in a worried tone.
"Shh... it's okay. Watch." Alexei brought the stick closer to snake, until he touched it. Valery thought that it now would attack them... but to his surprise it didn't come. Instead, the snake had its gaze locked on the boys, like if it was analyzing them.
They stayed like that for a while, until the snake finally turned around and crawled away. Valery was speechless.
"Wow, it just went away... how did you do it?"
Alexei let out a chuckle
"Heh, honestly I don't know, but seems like for some reason the snakes like me."
"You think so?" Asked Valery with confusion. "Maybe you simply were lucky."
"Yeah, maybe." Valery's brother stood up, and looking at the plains outside the ruined house he added. "You know? I find snakes quite fascinating. They lack any kind of extremities, and most of the time are forced to crawl on the floor, leaving them vulnerable. These reptiles find themselves in the most unfavorable situation of all... and yet, despite all the hardships, they thrived. It's their perseverance that makes them unique."
"Oh, just like Dad! He says that if I study hard enough, I can become whatever I want. My biggest dream is being a doctor, because that way I'll be able to help those who need it!"
Alexei could only smile to his little brother's words.
"That's very good, Valery. I'm glad that you want to become a doctor."
"And you? What do you want to do when you're older, Alexei?"
"Well..." He paused for a bit. "Dad always works so that Mum and us can live in a better place ... and I'm going to follow his steps. I want to make from the world a better place, and one where you, I and many others can have a prosperous life, no matter the cost..."
"You'll achieve it, I'm sure of that. Now..." Suddenly, he slapped Alexei on the back and ran away. "Catch me if you can!"
"Come here, you little...!" Like that, the two brothers began chasing one another again. Alexei was running very fast, but he barely could catch up with Valery.
"Hahaha, you're slow...!" At that moment the boy stumbled upon with a wall that stood right in the middle of the path. He tried to turn around and find another way, but by the time he realized, Alexei had him cornered.
"Hehe, I caught you~..."
The little Valery remained still. He only had to wait for his brother to finally catch him, and with that the tag game would resume. Alexei was about to get to him... but at that moment, Valery saw a portal of pure darkness form behind him.
"ALEXEI, BEHIND YOU!"
"Huh...?" The moment he turned around, a demonic arm came out of the darkness and, before he could even realize, Alexei was pulled towards the portal and vanished, right before Valery's horrified eyes.
Between tears, the poor boy opened his mouth and let out the most heartbreaking cry of his life."
X-X
"ALEXEI, NOO!" Will woke up with a gasp. Shaken by what he had seen, the boy could sense his heart throbbing at an insane rate. It took a short while, but he managed to calm himself a bit, after which he took a look around him.
He checked that, indeed, he was on his dorm's bedroom. It had all been a dream.
"Ahh... What a horrible nightmare..."
With a grunt, he moved the blankets away and reached for his phone, but the moment he saw the time his eyes widened.
"Oh fuck, I'm late for the meeting!" He immediately stood up from the bed, and going fast as a lighting, got about his morning chores.
/ /
Half an hour later, Will was bursting out of his dorm with a half-eaten sandwich on his hand. Walking down the corridors, he eventually stumbled upon with Matt at the lift's door. His friend looked him up and down, and then said.
"Good morning, Willy...! Huh? You've got a bad face, have you slept well?"
"I had a nightmare, but nothing to worry about." He shrugged.
"Good." He made a small gesture. "Come on, let's hurry. I don't think Kal'tsit will be happy with us being late."
That said the two got on the elevator and, once it reached the top floors, made their way towards the meeting room. Upon arriving at their destination, the boys saw that everyone was already there: The Doctor, Closure, Talulah and Nine in representation of Reunion, and Kal'tsit herself.
The latter gave them a serious look as soon as they passed the door's frame.
"You're late." She said.
"Yeah, we got held up a bit, but now we're here." Matt sat down in his seat and spoke. "Alright then, what is this meeting about?"
"I wanted to discuss the actual state of the conflict with Russia, so that's why I called you here. Take a seat."
Once that everybody had made themselves comfortable on their places, the lynx cleared her throat and started the meeting.
"Let's get started. Matthews, Will, you've seen what's happening out there. This invasion isn't like anything we've faced before... and if we don't act, then many will suffer." She then turned to the Doctor. "Doctor, could you explain the details to them?"
"Ah, yes of course." Reaching for the remote, he turned on a nearby screen. There a map of Terra was displayed. "Well, this entire conflict began here, in the city of Novaya Volga. Long story short, the Russian Army completely crushed the defenders and began a lighting offensive across the entire country. That was a couple of months ago, though. Right now, the situation should look..." He clicked a button and the map changed to the current date. "...like this."
The boys looked in stupor at the image. The red color signifying the Russian occupied territories had spread all over the country, covering the entirety of its western lands.
"My God, they've managed to conquer half of Ursus in just a few months!" Exclaimed Matt.
"Yes, but it doesn't end there. Now that Trotskygrad has fallen, the Russians are less than 40 miles away from the Empire's capital, Deity Gypherburg, and their offensive isn't slowing down in the slightest..."
"Conquering the capital won't be easy." Intervened Nine. "Our informants are reporting that more than 95.000 Ursus troops have been deployed to defend the city, and it has come down to the point where the Emperor himself has ordered the transfer of over a dozen of Emperor's Blades to Gypherburg. They've transformed the city into a fortress."
"Yeah, I agree. I know firsthand that the Emperor's Blades are the most powerful men in the entirety of Ursus, and I'm almost sure that they're more than capable of holding them back." Said Kal'tsit. "However, not even the Blades can hope to stop the Russian Army for long. Gypherbrug might resist one, two weeks at most, but it'll eventually fall."
"I see..." Muttered Will. "How are you guys planning to face the Russian forces?"
"We don't know." Answered the Doctor. "Here in Rhodes we've been carrying a sabotage campaign for quite a while now. There has been some success, but not near enough to make an actual impact."
"That's why they asked for your help." Said Talulah to the boys. "With your knowledge about Earth, maybe we canhave a chance to turn the tides of this war."
"So, what do you think about all of this? What we should do?" Asked Kal'tsit.
Will and Matt didn't know what to answer. What they could do? It was a very hard question. It wasn't just an ordinary foe, no... they were speaking of defeating fuck*ng Russia, one of the most powerful nations to have ever exited! The odds of defeating such giant were low, and they both knew it... but, there might be a chance. It was a very slight one, yet...
After thinking for some long minutes, Matthews let his hands drop on the table and spoke.
"Alright... We aren't military experts nor nothing of the sorts, and we probably know as much as you do about the Russian's tactics... but even with that in mind, we'll help you guys; and let me say this: I have clear that, as long as the Russian Army continues to hold the technological superiority, Terra can't be liberated."
"In Trotskygrad, Reunion foot soldiers stole some Russian weapons and used them to great effect. If we reverse-engineer those rifles, then Rhodes could face the Russian Army at even odds."
"That's what we've trying to for weeks." Spoke Closure. "Everyone at the Engineering Department is working non-stop to find a way to produce firearms of our own, but... we're having some problems regarding "gunpowder". It will be a while till we develop a functional weapon, unfortunately."
Mat let out a sigh.
"Well, anyway. At least we're doing something to possibly..."
All of a sudden, the screen on the wall began to glitch and making wild noises of static.
"What the hell is happening with PTRS?!" Exclaimed the Doctor.
Closure was going to say something, but at that moment the glitched voice of the IA began sounding through the speakers.
"Interf...ference in communications detec...ted. Protection protocol activated...Warning, failed execution of pro..gram... ERROR. ERROR..." For a brief while it seemed like it had come to an end, but then the voice broke its silence and said. "... New commands acquired. Playing recording..."
"Hello" As the voice message played, Matt and the rest found themselves listening to a woman's voice. "... If you've received this, then please hear me till the end. I don't have much time left, so I'll be straight. I thought I would have gone under their radar, yet somehow they detected me. I'm safe for now, but it's a matter of time before they catch up to me. I urgently... need help." Interferences started to appear on the audio, and as the recording progressed, her words became more and more blurry. "Please...help me... Made... Discovery...Can't let info fall... Careful...Imminent danger...Russia... Mount... to Vyely Dvor. Ask for... -anova. She'll... you wh... Goodbye."
The recording ended.
All present in the room were left without words. The sudden glitching of the PTRS was very strange, to say the least, yet the strangest about this was the woman's message. Its cryptic content was raising many questions in their minds...
Matt was the first to speak.
"Well... Can someone explain what we've just heard?"
"I... I don't have the slightest idea of what was that." Said the Doctor. "But the fact is that this message has managed to get to us, and it looks like this person needs help. We have to..."
Before he could finish, he was silenced by Kal'tsit.
"Let's not jump into hasty conclusions. Closure and I will stay to perform an analysis on the PTRS system. The rest you can leave... now."
/ /
And just like she said, moments later they were standing outside, and the room's doors closed. Matt threw a glare at his companions and said.
"It's only me, or has she just kicked us out?"
"Nah, she's just being Kal'tsit." The Doctor said with a smirk... but then he remembered something. "Oh, I just remembered I still have some paperwork left to do, so I'll be leaving now."
"We too have to go." Said Talulah. "Nine and I need to reorganize our forces after yesterday's battle, like it or not."
"Don't worry, it's fine." Replied Will.
"Ok." She leaned and kissed him on the cheek. "See you later then."
The three then walked away. Now that they were alone, Will looked over to Matt and, with an uncertain tone, he asked.
"Well, what do we do now?"
His friend looked to his watch.
"It's still relatively early... what about grabbing something to eat at the cafeteria?"
"Good idea! I haven't eaten breakfast yet so... yeah, let's go then!"
And with that said, the two headed towards the lift.
