This was not my fucking day. I had scheduled a meeting with the Five Star to address the accusations of corruption within the military, and my independent investigation had at the very least cause for concern. But no. Instead, I was spending my morning trying not to fucking die.
Another of my men got dropped by the fangs of the silver dog while the golden one lumbered behind struggling to keep up. At this point it’s hide was pocked with dents from bullets, but nothing was breaking through and we were running out of bodies and bullets to deal with it. I’d get into my Alpha on the other side of the tarmac, except it was on the other side of the killer robot dickheads.
I continued to retreat and take shots with the other men, when suddenly the thing was smashed flat by a large hydraulic foot. I looked up and saw someone had managed to get into a reverse-jointed Charlie equipped with a GGG. It turned and mowed down the golden shithead and I let out a sigh of relief before taking a body count.
The things had killed thirteen men, with nobody else having injuries. Those canines were thorough when they got ahold of you, not a chance of surviving.
“Commander!”
“What is it? I growled at the body running across the tarmac while calling to me.
“We’re getting similar reports throughout the city of attacks everywhere. All the automata went crazy in response to the loud speakers.”
“Fuck. Everyone, start mobilizing and get in contact with Unit Two for support. I want everyone ready for combat, all hands. Now!” I yelled my order and I glowered at the tangled metal mess of the automata.
I hurried through the main offices of the Five Star. My meeting hadn’t been canceled yet, and while we were in a state of emergency, I had a sneaking suspicion that my investigation directly tied into the attack. As I walked by I ended up being shoulder-checked by another man who seemed as hurried to leave as I was to get in.
“Watch where you’re fucking going asshole!” I berated as I turned to get a better look at the idiot. To my surprise I recognized the man as Juliet’s yeoman, and he was not with his commander. You would think all of Unit Two would be out addressing the city-wide panic.
I saw the Five Star’s secretary and saw her in flustered panic as she answered calls at her desk. I didn’t have time for her to get a moment, as soon as the meeting was over I needed to head back out to assist with the disaster outside. I slammed my hand down and hung up her phone so that I had her attention. “Where’s the Five Star?”
She stared at me in shock before muttering, “They’re all dead.”
“What?”
“They’re all dead!”
“Who’s fucking dead!?”
“The generals were wiped out. They were using the automata as security at the counsel, and they…”
“Was the Five Star there!?” I shouted as I felt sudden dread sink my stomach. If the entire military head of command was wiped out there would be a power vacuum that would spiral everything even further out of control.
“N-no, he excused himself for his meeting with you this morning. He’s in his office right now, but-”
“Thank fuck,” I interrupted and sped past her desk to swing the door open. I walked in as the door shut smoothly behind me and I instantly realized something was wrong. Where was he? The city was in panic, he should have at least been on the phone or talking to some commanders giving out orders, but the room was quiet, and the lights were out.
I turned and found the light switch on the wall and flipped it, revealing grey carpet and white walls. The desk was made of aluminum, and painted black with a brown top. “Hello?” I called out in confusion before slowly approaching the desk. I looked out the window where you could see the central pillar reaching upwards towards the surface impressively. Looking out at it you wouldn’t realize death was in the air. I continued to walk forward and around the desk to get a better look at the situation when my foot hit something on the floor behind the desk.
I looked down and… fucking fucker’s fucked! I turned back to the door and flung it open screaming at the nervous wreck of a secretary, “We have a medical emergency in here!” I turned back into the office and rushed to the Five Star. His face was bloodied and it looked like someone had beaten him, severely. I checked for vitals and got nothing. I immediately went into CPR. We couldn’t afford to lose him now.
I was sitting in the waiting room recovering from exhaustion. It had taken the corpsman thirty minutes to get there, and by then it was too late. Maybe if the city wasn’t in chaos right now they could have arrived sooner, but I doubt they could have saved him. His body was in worse condition than I realized when I had torn his clothes off to apply the AED. He had been beaten to death, and not by accident. It had been thorough, deliberate, and I suspected meditated. His secretary admitted he had been in there thirty minutes before I arrived, and the door was sound proud. The lack of a struggle was alarming, but based on his busted nose he could have been dropped in a single well landed blow.
I finally gathered my strength and stood up as I prepared to head out. As awful as things were, we were still under crisis and I couldn’t waste time here when I could be out helping. As I went to leave two guards approached and one held out a hand gesturing for me to stop. “Now what?” I demanded. I understood the need for a police report, but now was not the time.
“Commander Alloy, we have some questions for you.”
“Seriously. The city is still under attack, you can fill out the report later, we have other lives to save.”
The woman gave me a stern look, “Sir, I can’t let you leave especially considering you’re… track record.”
“Excuse me?”
“I’ve seen the video, I know you are more than willing to hit another officer.” That video? Fucking ridiculous, I was the one who walked away from that spar with a black eye. Wait, was she implying what I thought she was implying?
“Choose your next words carefully,” I warned through my teeth. Right now I was one of the highest ranked officers, and I did not have time to deal with this stupidity.
“I’m not implying anything, but Commander Juliet was clear we were to hold you here until we finish with the Olympian uprising.”
“What do you mean Olympian uprising?”
“The automata clearly attacked due to his designs. We know for now he’s holed himself inside his workshop, but we are preparing a raid for his arrest and trial.”
“Are you out of your damned minds? That kid couldn’t hurt anyone if he wanted to.”
“Which is why he clearly used the automata.”
I couldn’t believe my ears, but suddenly I realized why the voice on the loudspeakers had sounded so familiar. It was his. But even then, it didn’t make sense, he would have needed access to the PA system, and there were only three places in the city that granted access, all of which were well out of his reach. The only military contacts he had to get him to any of those locations were me and 33, and I knew for a fact she wouldn’t do something like this.
“Whatever, you still can’t stop me from leaving, Juliet doesn’t outrank me.”
“Actually sir, right now she had emergency powers over the military.”
I stopped at that revelation. There was no way, “Where’s rank one? They should be the one in charge right now.”
“His unit deployed this morning on his final mission. He won’t return for two weeks.”
Son of a bitch! Everything was going tits up all at once. It was one coincidence… after… another. My eyes widened in realization as I remembered El Dorado. I’d seen this meticulous planning before. The difference was El Dorado had backfired on its mastermind, but this time all the pieces were falling into place.
If shit was about to hit the fan I needed to get Adonis out, and I needed him out fast. Olympus may not be safe for long, but the Crossroads were going to be gunning for him. Most likely he wasn’t going to get a trial, he’d be set up to die in the raid to tie off loose ends. If he spoke and ended up having an alibi the narrative could be spun out of control, and the machinations could seize up, though I doubt it’d be enough to stop everything.
In that case I needed a plan… Shit, why are all my plans such shitshows? I had a way out, but it would definitely fuck myself over in the process since it meant breaking out of custody, which was definitely not going to help my defense on what had happened to the Five Star. Problem was the only alternative would likely leave Adonis to his doom, which wasn’t a fucking play I was willing to make leaving me with one option. Burn down my bridges, save the kid.
“Fuck me!”
“Sir?”
“Fine, I’ll answer your questions! What do you want to know first? Where I found the body?”
The two guards shared a look, and then the second of them said, “You found the body in the office, didn’t you?”
“I did, but I had to move the body to do CPR. Don’t you guys need to know where the body was exactly for your report?”
The first guard nodded and said, “Yes sir, if you would,” and gestured for me to lead the way into the office. Most likely she was thinking that as long as they were in the way of the door I wouldn’t make an attempt to escape. To be fair, I was planning something exceedingly stupid.
“Alright,” I said as I entered the room. I found the body over here.” I walked to behind the desk and pointed, and then placed one foot on the desk in preparation before kicking off and dashing into a jump out the window.
Stupid plan? Hell no, this was the dumbest thing anyone had ever conceived as I immediately screamed from my shoulder dislocating and my head butting into the window causing the safety glass to crack throughout as I fell back down to the ground with my head seeing stars. I knew this stunt would hurt, but damn, I didn’t think it would hurt that much.
I rolled onto the ground as the first of the guards reached me making the rookie mistake I’d been counting on. He checked to see if I was okay. I throat punched him and with my still good arm pulled his pistol out of its holster before immediately ducking underneath the desk while bringing him with me. His partner screamed and one shot glanced off the desk spraying the window with shrapnel while I hit cover. The man was choking and I gave him another solid blow to the head causing him to reel back while I slammed my bad shoulder into the desk to reseat it.
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The female guard was yelling something useless, but I was already moving on to the next step of my plan. I took aim with the pistol and watched the gauss coils turn red before firing into each corner causing the cracked glass to fall out. The male guard looked dazed, but was starting to pick himself up so I kicked out a leg into his crotch. “Sorry man,” I apologized. I poked my head out quickly and ducked back down as another shot missed me. Alright, I knew where the female guard was, so now I needed to disarm, but not kill her. Easier said than done, especially with the adrenaline and pain throwing my aim off, but I could probably do this. I stood up again and managed to shoot her in the shoulder causing her to drop her gun. I rolled over the desk and while she screamed I grabbed her gun from the ground and pulled out the magazine.
The male guard had finally pulled himself up using the desk and threw up. The man probably had a concussion, and would need medical attention, as did the woman. I walked over to a box on the wall labeled first aid and pulled out what I needed. I approached the woman and gave her a shot of pain killers before applying her bandaging. At the same time, I ordered the man, “Take a seat or I’ll kill you and your partner.” He slid to the side of the desk and nodded while dazed and I finished applying the gauze and started wrapping the woman.
“What the hell are you doing?”
“No time. Answer my questions, how many more of you are out there?”
She stared at me with slight fear before steeling herself and saying, “There’s about a half dozen other guards out there.”
That’s what I fucking thought. I didn’t want to take the window, but it was likely going to be my best option. “Alright.” I tightened the bandage causing her to scream. Thank goodness for the sound proofing on that door, otherwise I’d be overwhelmed in moments. Still, as soon as I left they would get help, and the only way to stop that was to kill them. “Listen to me. I did not kill the Five Star, but I have an idea who did. If you get help while I try and leave than the culprit will get away with it, and likely pin it on me. You might not fucking trust me, but I need you to wait five minutes before calling for assistance. Nod your head if you understand me?”
She glared at me as she asked, “Why don’t you just kill us?”
I glared back, and then said, “Fuck it, do what you want, bitch.” She was either going to open the door and call out or not, and I didn’t have time to convince her. I tossed the other gun out the window and then looked out. The window opened out into rocky wall that was technically scalable. “Fucking fucker’s fucked,” I breathed before pulling myself over and started scaling the wall around to where the bridge of the crossroads was, about a dozen meters away.
Apparently she had chosen to wait as I managed to lower myself onto the bridge and pulled myself over the railing to an alleyway between two buildings. I made my way out to the main road and began crossing the road as I saw men and women run up and down the road. At least that allowed me to blend as I broke out into a brisk run towards the pillar.
The pillar had plenty of armed guards, and news of my arrest had yet to spread out. There was likely a time limit before the loudspeakers announced me as a fugitive, and I had a few levels to climb to reach the workshop. Hopefully security wouldn’t be too tight once I reached its level.
Of course not, nothing could go my way today. I slowed to a walk as I approached the barricades facing the road heading out towards the workshop. The workshop was at the furthest end, but they apparently weren’t risking approaching any closer than where the bridge started. I looked around and didn’t see any other commanders or yeoman. It had been about thirty minutes since I had clambered out the window, so there wasn’t a doubt in my mind that news had gotten out about my supposed treason, but those were the only people with tablets so they likely hadn’t gotten the word. The loudspeakers were still silent too. Perhaps they had been shut down in response to the erroneous announcement earlier that had set off the twin dogs. If that was the case, than I should count myself lucky that the plan to plunge the city into the chaos was backfiring to help me.
I approached the barricade and was recognized almost immediately by the woman in charge, who called me over, “Commander Alloy? What are you doing here?”
“I’m here to negotiate with the criminal,” I lied out my teeth. “I have a pre-existing relationship and Juliet determined I might be able to talk him down.
She nodded and took me at face value, “Let me get you caught up to speed. As per Juliet’s orders we haven’t made a move yet to close on the street. We suspect he might be armed with several automatons ready to attack, and we’re waiting to get some Deltas up here.” Shit, a Delta? Normally only Unit Three used Deltas, which were essentially choppers powered by GEL. They required an extreme level of accuracy above that of an Charlie, while using about the same amount as an Echo. They were also armed with missiles that could level the street leaving close to no evidence as well if they wanted. I needed to get Adonis out quick before they arrived. I had a plan that might work, but first I needed to reach the workshop.
“Have you assessed any actual armaments?”
“No, but we don’t want to risk it until backup arrives.”
That was what I expected. Adonis had nothing to do with this uprising, and was likely just the patsy, so of course he hadn’t prepared any armaments or automatons to protect him. Hell, he shipped off his finished products as soon as he was done with them, so I doubted I would even find any automatons when I got there. This was going to be a slaughter, and it was up to me to stop it.
“Understood. I’m going to go out and engage with the culprit. Do not- I repeat- do not follow me. I need to gain the kid’s trust so that we can bring him to justice. I don’t want him trying to pull off martyrdom. Do you understand?”
“Sir, Juliet said no one was to approach until she gave the order?”
“I asked if you understand?”
She hesitated, but eventually said, “Understood, sir.”
“Good.” I glanced down at the pillar and saw someone I had hoped wouldn’t show up. It was Juliet’s yeoman, and the young man’s eyes widened as his mouth opened noiselessly in shout while he tried shoving some of the other people on the walkway out of his way. Good, he was still outside of earshot, which meant I had a minute or two. I shoved through the barricade and took off on a sprint down the now abandoned road, gaining more than a few stares from snipers who were staring down the barrel at the workshop, probably wondering why I was fucking running towards a defensible position like that. I wouldn’t be out of range before the yeoman reached them and explained the situation, but I figured the snipers would still hesitate to shoot me. Even if I had been vilified by the city, most of the military still saw me as the war hero of El Dorado. That and I’d been serving longer than some of them had been alive. It was absolutely ridiculous that I would betray the city.
I reached the door with the words Elysium Workshop swung it open and slammed it behind me. The workshop lights were off, and I couldn’t see a thing. “Kid! It’s me Alloy!” I called out as I started feeling my way through the room. While the lights were off, I could hear the pumps running in the back and the temperature was as usual too warm for comfort. Small indicator lights for equipment were still on, which told me that Adonis hadn’t powered down his tools for the day. “Adonis! Where are you?”
I carefully felt my way forward until I found a work bench that I thought was familiar. This one should be about center of the room, and if I walk down while feeling its edge it should send me down a straight away to-
I was interrupted by tripping on something on the ground. “Son of a bitch,” I cursed. Leave it to him to leave tools out. I stared back on what I may have tripped, and fumbled to get my tablet out. It had a flashlight function on it, and I just needed to see for fuck’s sake. I turned on the light and identified what I tripped on.
I stayed still while I stared at it, rage boiling underneath the surface. I pulled myself up and looked down at it, part of my brain still not comprehending what I was staring at. I looked around me, and finally realized where I was in the workshop. I was next to the AI Aphrodite, and as I cast my flashlight over it I saw the camera’s lens adjust from my light.
“Aphrodite!?”
There was a moment more of silence, and then the synthetic voice of a woman spoke up, “Alloy of Justice.”
“Show me what the fuck happened here!”
“I don’t know if I can trust you,” despite the artificial nature of the voice, I could still hear the fear, and frankly, I didn’t care.
I didn’t have time for this bullshit. “Show me now!” I screamed so hard that my throat strained and hurt, like scratches being etched into it. There was a moment longer, and then the monitor turned on, and soon a video feed began.
The boy was taking a break and drinking a glass of water when he turned up at the sound of what I assumed was the door. “Oh, hey, how are you doing?”
“Good morning, Adonis, do you mind having a word with me?” I knew that voice, and it instantly made me sick to my stomach. It didn’t matter if I knew what came next though, I needed to see it. I needed to know for sure. I needed to know who was responsible for everything. I needed something to direct my fury at.
“Yes ma’am, how can I help you?” Adonis changed positions so that he could better address his guest.
“I just wanted to thank you for telling me the history of Cronus, it was helpful, for sure.”
“It was no trouble, I’m just glad someone from the city took interest in mythology. Most of your people are uninterested, and while I myself don’t care too much, I do think it’s important we remember the stories and histories that brought us to where we are today.”
“I’m afraid that’s not why I asked you about it?”
“Why did you ask, then?”
From out of view of the camera there was a small rustling as someone pulled something out of their pocket. A moment later a recording of Adonis answered him with “Why did you ask, then?”
“Excuse me?” Adonis said looking down in confusion, but I already knew what was happening when the loudspeakers at the same time came on and said that damned word.
“Uranus.”
“Wait… what? Was that my voice on the PA?” Adonis was looking around in confusion and shock.
“Yes. Thank you for the recording, Adonis. I needed a trigger word no one would say, and you served me that quite well.”
Adonis turned around to face who was in his workshop and said, “I’m sorry, I’m going to need you to lea-” He never got to finish his sentence, for as he spoke Juliet stepped into view of the camera and pulled a gun out from her holster. It took maybe half a second, she was a skilled shot after all. The first bullet caused Adonis’s head to jerk back. The second bullet caused a jerk in his torso, and he crumpled to the ground limp. I forced myself to stare, while Juliet regarded her work quietly, holstered her gun, and walked away. She never did like leaving loose ends. I had been worried that she was planning to have him killed in the raid, but that would have required her raiding party to be corrupt. Too risky, and too much work.
I stared down at what I had tripped on and cast my light on it. I didn’t want to think what it was. I didn’t want to acknowledge it. I didn’t want to fucking fathom it. The kid was dead, one bullet to the head, another to the heart, and he lied stiffly on the ground.
I was sitting on the workbench when the door swung in, and a flash bang flew through the air. I’d put on the welding helmet in preparation, since I didn’t feel like being discombobulated, and my hands were already in the air. I was unarmed, but not unprepared. She was going to fucking pay. This coup, these murders, the past few years. Juliet was going to pay for every single crime she had committed, and I didn’t care if I had to burn the city down to do it. With her in charge they’d be preparing for war, and I would be damned if I was going to let the Crossroads raze humanity to the ground for the ego of a single bitch.
The team ran in and as soon as they entered started screaming at me to get on my knees, which I complied with. That didn’t stop them from grabbing me by my scruff and slamming my face into the ground causing me to taste blood in my mouth as I gritted my teeth through it. They tied me up and left me on the ground while they continued to clear the workshop. I didn’t need to listen to them say they found the body; I didn’t need to listen to them say anything. I knew what was coming next.
Eventually I heard boots step into the room as I heard one of the commandos say, “Attention!” while I heard everyone come to a salute.
“At ease. Give me the report,” came Juliet’s vile voice.
“Yes ma’am. The workshop has been cleared; we found no weapons. There is some sort of machinery in the back that we have yet to identify, but we’re working on shutting down. The criminal, Adonis, was found dead on the ground, shot before we arrived. We have not been able to find a murder weapon. Commander Alloy of Justice was waiting for us and immediately surrendered when we entered and appears unarmed.”
“Very well. Don’t bother shutting down the machinery, Olympian tech can be temperamental about that, and you’re as liable to cause a steam explosion as you are to turn it off. We’ll have N.O. Technologies come in and clean up the engineering side of things. For now, get the body cleaned up and disposed of. I don’t need Olympus getting news of their little martyr just yet. And pull up Alloy, I want to address him to his face.”
I was grabbed by the clothing on my back and pulled bodily up. Blood dripped from my lip, which was stung and was probably cut, but I was only vaguely aware of it as I stared into the cold ass eyes of the bitch who killed Adonis.
“Commander Alloy of Justice, it brings me zero pleasure to see you like this,” she waited for me to respond, but I wasn’t going to give her the pleasure. I kept my mouth shut while I felt the blood seep into my mouth, and I allowed my spit and blood to build up in preparation.
She let out a disappointed sigh, “Alloy of Justice, I strip you of your rank and authority. You are under arrest for the murders of the Five Star and Adonis, aggravated assault on two Unit Two guards, and obstruction of justice in the lawful fulfillments of their duties. Do you have anything to say for yourself?”
I spat my wad into her face, and while I felt no satisfaction, I at least got the bloody projectile into her eye. She didn’t even flinch, merely took a cloth from her front pocket, wiped her face, and said, “Take him to the holding cell. Goodbye Alloy.”
As I was led away, I turned back and stared back at the curtain at the back of the workshop, where even now steam could be seen creeping over.