Antares led his team to the wall of a bigger building. He halted at the corner and raised his fist. Behind the storehouse extended a wide arterial road leading to the facility, through which a patrol could drive at any moment. He pointed to a storehouse on the other side of the road, and looking around, he darted ahead.

His team members came out of their hiding one by one. They wavered like ghosts which haunted the city and disappeared again amongst the ruins.

Cerridwen kept pace with them as staying with the group was her only chance to survive. She leaned out from the back of the building and exerting her leg muscles to the maximum, she sprinted through the open space. The wind tossed her hair around, narrowing her range of sight, but she did not stop. Imagination deluded her mind with the drone of the approaching vehicles, footsteps of running Unions and whirring, flying fighters. Fear played unknown tricks.

Letting go of all those illusions, Cerridwen raced ahead until she reached the rest of her dubious team in between the two buildings, when her momentum slowed down. She bent down, with her hands on her knees, and took deep breaths until her heart returned to its normal rhythm and her muscles stopped burning in pain. She looked around, trying to memorise as many details as possible, in case she got a chance to escape or hide.

The pale light of a large, bright moon entered the area through a hole in the ceiling, illuminating the cracked floor overgrown with moss and grass. Between the plants lay rubbish, debris and shards of glass, but there was no evidence of stored supplies. The only residents of that concrete maze were enormous rodents, sneaking along the walls with bits of food in their muzzles.

“Chandri, get on the balcony for a recon,” commanded Antares, “Captain Eadon, watch over the entrance.”

Quirinus approached the double gates carefully, and Nadee brought out the night-vision binoculars from her bag and climbed the narrow, metal stairs up to the landing. She pushed warily through the opening which once led to the balcony door.

Nadee adjusted the focus of the binoculars and stood still. She checked the road to the facility first. Only broken-down containers and wrecks lay alongside the path. She switched to the infrared mode. The entire area lit up dark blue, except the rodents which were little yellow dots.

Thereafter she scanned the area in front of the facility gate. A few security personnel, armed with rifles, walked along the fence in search of unwelcome visitors. It complicated her task, but Nadee took into consideration that it was for the protection of an important person, even if her presence was top secret.

She looked up, on the roof. Something moved behind the cover of a thick pipe. Nadee recognised it to be a sharpshooter and after a longer observation, she counted fifteen Unions watching the area from above. She frowned and grimaced.

No one will get through the security detail like this.

She moved away from the entrance and leapt down.

“We have a problem, Sir,” she said, “there are too many of them, and they have a better position with good visual.”

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Antares swore under his breath and clenched his teeth. His misgivings had been confirmed. In his mind, he cursed himself and his hasty fervour the moment he realised the inaccuracies of his slapdash plan.

He was sure he would get out of that fix with his rapid, intuitive strategy.

His improvised actions had always worked out well enough in the past. Because of it, even Devi Kali regarded him as a decent warrior.

Veins on his neck started pulsing, but he straightened his back and looked around. He inhaled the humid air and spoke in a calm voice. “We can handle it. We need only…”

“No, we can’t.” Nadee came closer to him to be able to speak softly. She raised her arm, pointing to the stairs. “I saw seven of them at the gate. I’m sure there are more inside. And fifteen riflemen on the roof.” She clenched her fists. “We’ve no chance. Give it up, please.”

“No way,” he countered, his harsh whisper echoing in the walls.

“I’ll find another way. Are you doubting me?”

“I didn’t mean that.” She shook her head and flicked her hair from her face. “I just thought you should have considered the minute aspects of the plan in greater detail.”

Antares felt his decision was on the line. Nadee was right, but he was not going to admit that to her. He raised his eyebrow mockingly. “Do you have a better idea?”

Nadee looked down, searching for arguments in her mind to prove her point.

“So, do you? A better idea?” he repeated and crossed his arms. He clenched his fingers on his elbows to control his rising anxiety.

Nadee did not reply. She did not want to show it, but the unpredictability and over-confidence of her commander drove her mad. She stepped back and lowered her ears, gazing at the her Commander with an unhidden hostility.

“I think I have, if I may,” spoke Cerridwen, approaching the discussing rebels.

“No,” barked Antares and replied to Nadee in a more placid voice, “you see, Chandri, we must risk it. Not because of my craze but because it can be our only opportunity to gain the approval of the most powerful person in the entire rebellion.” He gazed up. “Devi Kali herself will call us heroes. As a reward, she might let us attack and retake Zetherion.”

“Wouldn’t it be easier to go through those sewers?” Cerridwen carried on as if uninterrupted, “some of them must lead to this facility.” “She’s right,” agreed Nadee.

“How can we be sure?” growled the Commander, turning towards the Celestian girl.

“I don’t know,” she mumbled and spread her arms, “but we’re all gonna die here anyway.” She kicked a piece of brick. “This is insane!” “We still have a chance to withdraw,” added Nadee.

“Where’s this sewer?” asked Antares, ignoring Nadee's remark.

Cerridwen stood near the round hatch in the overgrown grass. From a distance, it resembled a clump of plants, so she did not notice it until she tripped over its edge.

“Here.” She nudged a long blade of grass with her shoe.

Antares and Nadee came up to her and perused the entrance. The Kehrian woman scrutinised her LiqWatch to get more details. “It’s quite possible that these sewers lead to the facility.” She displayed a little holographic scheme. She’d received it from one of the Jalandhara agents, but she could not be certain if it was up-to-date. “Staff buildings should be connected to the general system.”

Making use of the lack of their attention, Antares wiped his eyes and gathered his thoughts. “Alright.” He glanced over at Nadee. “But you’re leading.”

“Yes, sir,” she replied and crouched above the hatch. She gripped the bars and tugged them several times until the cover gave in. She turned on her headlamp, moving the light beam towards the tunnel depths. “Follow me.”

She climbed down the rusted ladder and disappeared into the darkness. Antares waited until the plop of her footfalls moved further away.

He was still unsure if it was the correct action to bring his plan to fruition. He did not trust the young Celestian girl and somewhere in his subconsciousness, he feared that she would draw him into a trap.

He decided to take a chance. An opportunity like that to gain Devi Kali’s respect could never happen again, and he was playing for a much higher stake than saving her life. He turned on his headlight and taking a deep breath, jumped on to the ladder.