Briggs let out a bit of a gasp. Even with Germaine's help, the train car had been difficult to move. It had felt as if it was trying to grow into the ground it had been sittin still for so long. He glanced over to Germaine, who had become fixated with removing every speck of dust he could from his clothes. He could be rather tender at times despite his bulky appearance.
"Hey Germaine, what do you think of that woman?"
Germaine ceased pattering his clothes, and brought his hands to his hips. "Well, I can't say I fully trust the little dear, but she seems to have good intentions. Besides, what are we to do?"
He had a point. It was evident to everyone around, their end was either going to be greeting them soon, or they were going to live to fight another day.
"Yeah, I guess you're right. I've never been one to associate with the political aspect of people. If she's offering a solution, I'll take it."
Briggs wiped his brow, and the two left the tunnel to return to thier meeting room.
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Briggs and Germaine couldn't have chosen a better time to come back. Everyone seemed to be in a panic. Standing in the center of the attention stood Akatsuya. Marcus and Amanda were heading to observe the ruckus while Maple and Alyssa were standing near a column, tense in their stances.
Refugees were scattered about the place, scrambling left and right, bags and luggage in hand. They seemed to have faith that their escape would be showing up.
As the two men came to a halt near Marcus and Amanda, Akatsuya turned to face them, "Get your weapons and get ready to fight. They're going to be here soon."
Akatsuya's tone was dead serious. If he was warning them, Helix was alot closer than they had anticipated they would be. Responsible for most of the Underground's scouting duties, Akatsuya knew that Helix would arrive in a couple of hours. They had little time to prepare.
Marcus crossed his arms, and approached Akatsuya, "How much are we gonna have to cut down to buy us time?" It was clear Marcus was still giving faith in Lyria's plan. They still hadn't recieved word from her, but they had no choice but to believe she would arrive.
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"Alot more than we've got ammunition for. They've shown up with a small army. They were only a couple of miles away. Either somebody tipped them off or they found something to lead them here. Regardless, we're in for a rough way."
"What are going to do about the people? They can't possibly fight these soldiers, nor do we have a way for them to defend themselves." Marcus was still trying to prioritize the safety of the refugees, despite his team being at risk.
"We'll have to keep them behind cover and hope they don't get targeted. Not much more we can do." At first glance, it sounded like Akatsuya was being cold hearted, but it was the honest truth. There was no way for Generation to protect the refugees in a direct fight. They were going to have to chance that they may not pay much notice to them.
A sudden idea crossed Marcus' mind. The train car. They may be able to stash the refugees in it and wait for Lyria to arrive. The steel car should be able to withstand some gunfire, and that would be better than no protection.
Marcus turned to Briggs and Germaine, the two almost giving him a look of worry at what he was about to ask.
"Briggs, Germaine, would it be possible for us to drag the train car down here to store these people in? Chances are once we take off, we won't have time to stop down the line to pick them up."
With a nod, the two men sat back to drag the train car even further down than they had moved it. It wasn't going to be easy but it wasn't that far down the line.
As the two walked off, Marcus began gathering up the refugees in a orderly fashion. He needed to organize them to prevent panic.
After nearly 30 minutes, Briggs and Germaine had the train car in position, broadside to the platform. One by one, the refugees boarded the train car, luggage in hand, ready to board when Lyria arrived. Amanda had departed to bring each member weapons and ammunition and had since returned. While they were capable of exceptional close range combat, they were going to have to keep the fight at a distance to buy time.
One by one, each member checked their weapons. Marcus was bearing his favorite carbine, Briggs with his light machine gun, Germaine with a pump action shotgun, Amanda with her marksman's rifle, Akatsuya armed with a sub machine gun, and finally Maple, who had become accustomed to using a carbine much like her father. Alyssa stood with crossed arms, tapping her foot impatiently as nothing had been given to her.
Amanda shot her a look, "Sorry Alyssa. You're not going to be fighting on this one. You've got the spirit of an Alpha, but not the body of one. You'll be safer and more useful if you help keep the refugees under control. Chances are they're going to panic."
With a a little huff of rebellion, Alyssa began walking to the train car. Her pace was paused by the sound of marching feet, heading directly for them. The sound of clanging machinery could be heard overtop the marching, echoing off the walls of the Underground.
They were here, and it was time to fight.
Maple gripped the gun in her hands tightly, and took up position. All around her, everyone had placed themselves into an ambush position. They shouldn't have arrived so quickly, but they were here now. For Generation, it was time to fight...