The Biomass Revolution (The Tisaian Chronicles) (34 page)

Ajax and Nathar dove for cover just before the bright white light of the grenade flashed. The explosion ripped through the metal crates, shredding the Knights and sending chunks of concrete, twisted metal
, and body parts into the air.

Ajax slowly removed his hands from his head and peered around the room, coughing from the smoke and smell of scorched flesh.

“Let’s move! Plant the explosives,” Ajax ordered. He rushed past Obi who was preoccupied watching Creo and Ran attempt CPR on Nordica.

“How bad?” Obi asked.

Creo removed his goggles, so he could look upon his commander with his own eyes before shaking his head.

Obi, nodded, pulling
a whimpering Ran off of Nordica. “Ran, I need you to get the others out of here. Nordica would want you to live. Ajax and I will finish setting the explosives.”

Ran wiped a tear from his face and nodded, heading for the vent opening.  Obi watched half his team make it back to the air duct, Nathar hoisting Spurious and then Ran into the darkness above him. 

A small rush of relief washed over Obi. It was a small victory, considering the mission. He knew going in there would be casualties. Even though Nordica wouldn’t be making the trip home, there was comfort knowing she wanted to die in combat.

“How’s it coming
, Ajax?”

“Almost done
, boss, let’s just hope the Tin Cans didn’t hear us coming.”

Obi knew they were working
on borrowed time. By now the entire headquarters would be alerted to their presence and squads from all over Lunia would be honing in on them. They had minutes, maybe seconds, to plant the charges and bail. He kneeled next to Ajax and trained his machine gun on the door at the end of the tunnel, waiting.

“
Okay, boss. Timer’s set, let’s go!” Ajax shouted. “You do the honors,” he said, handing Obi the remote detonator.

Obi felt the cold metal of the detonator on his fingers. In his hand he held the end to a revolution
—the ability to bring the CRK headquarters and the Tisaian government to its knees.

He looked up at Ajax, a smile hidden by his five days
’ worth of facial scruff. His friend didn’t return the smile, however. He looked terrified. Obi turned just in time to see a squad of Knights pouring into the room.

Ajax started firing immediately, back tracking through the open metal door and into the first room. Shells rained down on the concrete floor, pinging as they hit.

“Shut it!” Obi screamed.

Ajax tossed his weapon to the side and began shutting the massive metal door. White hot bullets ricocheted off the other side, but Ajax would not be deterred.  He grunted, snorted and heaved with all of his might. His muscles bulged, the cobwebs of veins poking out of his scarred arms until finally the door closed with a l
oud bang.

But Obi’s luck had finally run out
. He lay on the concrete floor, squirming in pain. Ajax continued on, oblivious to his fallen comrade. He headed to the card reader and blasted the device with his pistol.

“
Let’s go, I’ll hoist you up first, boss!” Ajax shouted, reaching down for his assault rifle. It was then his eyes finally came to rest on Obi’s broken body.

“I’m not going to be making the trip home this time
, my friend. You’re Commander of the TDU now,” Obi coughed, a red stream of blood streaking down his chin.

“No!” Ajax cried
, collapsing to his knees. “You’re coming with, boss, we can still get you out of here,” the large man whimpered. His eyes comprehended what his mind could not - Obi was mortally wounded, two bullet holes to the chest and one in his stomach. 

Obi coughed again, holding up the detonator. “I never told the others, but I have always considered you a son.”

Ajax squeezed Obi’s hand. He couldn’t bring himself to look down at the dying commander, the man he had fought side by side with for so long.  He was a man of few words, and he wasn’t going to change now. Placing his hand on Obi’s shoulder, he squeezed it one last time, a tear finding its way out of his neon orange goggles and crawling down his thick jaw line.

“Go!” Obi coughed, another stream of blood crawling out of his lips.

Ajax stood, gritting his teeth and wiping the tear away before heading for the air duct opening. He grabbed Nathar’s hand, jumping and pulling himself into the metal duct above.

The team crawled through the air duct as quickly as they could, listening to the Knights pound the metal door in the distance. It was too late for them
, though; the bombs on the other side couldn’t be disengaged, and the detonator remained in the hands of one of the most loyal TDU soldiers to ever fight in Tisaia.

He lay in front of the door
, motionless, the pain subsiding, his life source draining from his body. He watched Ajax climb to safety and was at peace.

Obi’s blood
stained lips formed a smile. He had watched Spurious grow into a man in the past few days, and knew this young State worker’s destiny was to rise to greatness and lead Tisaia out of the darkness. He would have a chance to do that now.

Obi gripped the remote tighter in his gloved hand and
reached for the necklace Sasa had given him years ago, caressing it. He closed his eyes and remembered her face and the faces of all those lost under his command. His eyes darted back down to the remote. This was for the departed—the ones who lost their lives fighting for justice.

T
he pounding on the door grew louder. He grimaced, the feeling in his legs dwindling. His body was redirecting the blood to his heart and brain as his organs slowly began to shut down. He had to hang on, to give his men adequate time. They had to get far enough away from the blast zone. He hadn’t come this far to fail them now. 

The banging on the door rang out again. The Knights on the other side
were growing more frantic.

Obi took one last breath, memories of the past racing through his mind before he closed his eyes
for the last time. With a single click he pushed the button on the detonator; a single tear crept down his face before the fire consumed him.

Time
: 12:05 p.m. February 28, 2071.

Location
: Immigration Camp #4. Rohania, Tisaia

Kalah sat in his small tent, surrounded by three of his closest friends. He watched his companions huddle around the small fire, chatting anxiously about the news trickling into the camp from relatives and friends in Rohania. The flames illuminated a sparkle in Kalah’s normally dull brown eyes.

An hour had passed since news of the massive bomb that ripped through the Council of Royal Knight’s Headquarters spread. And Kalah was excited. Normally he would have dismissed such news, but when the ground shook and the smoke rose in the distance
, he knew a change was coming. Today was the day he would rise with the rest of the immigrants at Camp #4. Today was the day they would finally achieve their freedom.

He turned to his tent mate Mulia. “How many weapons do we have hidden?”

Mulia held up his fingers as if he were counting the rifles he had hidden over the years. “About 50,” he finally responded.

“Then we should have enough for
almost every able man in the camp. It’s time to fight. Spread the word. Today we go to war!” Kalah yelled, rising from his feet.

Time
: 7:14 p.m. February 28, 2071.

Location
: St. Peters Church, Rohania

Leo sat in the bowels of St. Peter’s church, hiding in the shadows and watching the flicker of candle light dance across the dark room. He listened carefully to the Rohanians who gathered around a massive oak table in the center of the room. He examined the weapons, maps and pages upon pages of documents littered across the table, wondering if they were real.

Leo had helped organize the meeting immediately after hearing of the news streaming in from Lunia. The Knights
’ headquarters had finally fallen.

“Let us call this meeting to order!” shouted Susa Waria, a middle aged shop owner from Rohania
, known for her waist length gray hair.

“I want to thank Leo
, one of Rohania’s oldest protectors, for organizing this meeting. Rest assured you’re safe here. The Knights are busy with rescue attempts at their headquarters. That’s right, the news you have all inevitably heard by now is true. The Knights have been broken,” Susa said, pausing, the room breaking into cheers.

“Let us not forget, however, the window of opportunity for a rebellion is short. Knights are still positioned throughout Tisaia, and will without a doubt reorganize quickly. We must rally with the immigrant camps and strike them hard, and strike them swiftly if we hope to truly retake Tisaia.”

The room erupted in commotion. Susa stood, her hands trying to quell the disorder.

“What of the TDU? How do we know
they’re strong enough to fight a full-fledged rebellion?” a man asked from a chair at the back of the room. 

“They were strong enough to destroy the CRK headquarters,” another man Leo did not recognize shouted.

“We shouldn’t overestimate them, though,” a woman yelled at the end of the table.

“
Order!” Susa yelled at the top of her lungs. The room quieted and she placed her hands down on the table softly, scanning the room with her dark brown eyes.

“
We’ve waited for this day for a long time now. I can assure all of you my contacts have confirmed the TDU is still intact. News has already trickled in that the immigrant camps are beginning to rise up. We’ve been supplying them with weapons for years, waiting for an opportunity just like this…” Susa paused and grabbed a document from the table.

“In front of you there are directions.
You’re all ward leaders, men and women who own shops or businesses in Rohania. These documents will provide you with the information you need to organize your wards. Weapons and supplies will be provided. What your people may lack in training they will certainly make up for in enthusiasm. The Knights will not be able to stop a full rebellion,” Susa calmly reassured them.

Silence crept over the room, the ward leaders scanning through their briefs.

“If you do not wish to be part of this uprising that is your decision. All I ask is you make this decision quickly. For those of you who do not wish to continue, please leave now,” Susa requested.

Leo watched the ward leaders fidget around the table, a few appearing anxious to leave, but they all remained. The darkness hid the nervous brows of these men and women
, who had gone from struggling business owners to rebels overnight. Most of them had no experience with fighting, something they all lived amongst for so long.

Susa
, however, was no stranger to fighting or rebellions. She had lived her entire life amongst those fighting to make the world a better place. In the beginning years, when Tisaia rose out of the ashes of war, she had been part of the TDU. She knew this experience wasn’t something she could pass onto the ward leaders through words on a piece of paper. She couldn’t expect them to fully grasp the task in front of them. All she could do was hope they would follow through with what she asked of them. 

Susa
looked around the room one more time, briefly studying the faces of each of the men and women she was relying on the most.

“Thank you for staying. I truly appreciate your bravery
, and soon Tisaia will as well. Are there any questions?” Susa asked, pausing to glance around the room and study the anxious faces. Silence swept over the room and she continued. “If there are no questions, then this meeting is adjourned. Good luck and Godspeed,” Susa said, blowing out a candle, grabbing her rifle and heading for the cobblestone streets above.

Time
: 7:01 a.m. February 29, 2071

Location:
Rohania, Tisaia

Squad 19 sat perched on the first floor of an abandoned high rise, never repaired from the nuke that peeled back its layers of metal like a doctor cutting into flesh with a sharp knife.  They watched the gray dawn break on the horizon, cold and dense. In the distance flames licked the skyline, smoke billowing above the CRK headquarters and Capitol, now nothing more than smoldering craters in the ground.

The sight sent a chill down Spurious’ spine, a relief so overwhelming it could almost be confused with joy. But joy wasn’t the proper word to describe the destruction he saw in the distance. Amongst the lifeless bodies of Governor Felix, Commander Augustus and their army of barbaric Knigh
ts lay many of his co-workers—collateral damage in a war that spared no one.

Spurious shook the images of death from his mind. The civilians, Lana, and his parents weren’t the only
deaths being grieved. Squad 19 had not been able to mourn Obi or Nordica either. The time for grieving would come, but first Squad 19 had one last mission to complete.

A shrieking explosion broke through the morning gray haze as an ammo depot exploded somewhere in the city. The flash blinded Spurious momentarily. He shielded his naked eyes, but it was of no use
; his vision was clouded with stars.