The Last Revolution (24 page)

“Daniel, make sure those soldiers are in place, with all the ammo that’s available. When I give the word they need to be ready to engage.”

Daniel nodded, and then relayed the orders to the soldiers in charge.

“Mary, it looks like you have three mech warriors, and two tanks. Place one mech along each of the eastern, western and southern borders to reinforce the firepower. Place the tanks in the back. Relay the coordinates for the artillery bombardments.

“Alden, your situation is even bleaker. Pop the copters and position them along the eastern and western perimeters to keep the enemy from flanking us. Use the drones for targeted attacks. We’ll hold the airstrike as a last ditch maneuver.”

Alden couldn’t believe the order. “Are you sure? They’re not going to last long against the massive attacking force. We should funnel the attacking troops into a centralized area using the rock formation here.” Alden aimed an index finger at a natural choke point on the map. “This will cut down the value of their numbers and make the bombing run more effective. It’s the only way we’re going to give these guys a fighting chance.”

“We’ve already seen several anti-aircraft missiles fired from the forest. We have to keep the copters in range of the tanks for defense.” Alden started to object again, but Gabriel held his hand out. “That’s final.”

Alden scanned the map and flipped his comm back on. “Copter One, head to the coordinates I’m sending you, and take up a defensive position. Copter Two, follow these coordinates to the southwesterly edge and take up a similar defensive position. Conserve your ammo, but do not let the enemy flank us!”

Alden switched on his heads-up display in order to follow the live video feed from the copters.

Gabrielle turned back to Mary. “You’re up first. Wait for the enemy to get a little closer. Wait for it, wait for it… Fire!”

The ground trembled below the tanks as their massive cannons lurched back and fired their rounds. Geysers of trees and gravel erupted in the distance. Muzzle flashes flickered to life along the line. The heavy guns on the mech warriors roared into action, ripping everything apart in front of them. Trees split in half as giant dust clouds burst up around the edges of the forest.

He studied the map and waited for the enemies’red dots to start vanishing, but to his dismay, very few did. Suddenly a massive barrage of rockets ripped out of the forest, raining down on the soldiers. Explosions could be seen everywhere, the line was being torn apart. The mech on the southern line took two direct shots to its left leg. Alden had a copter’s point of view. Bits of shrapnel shot in every direction as the giant machine crashed down.

A rocket streaked across the sky and past the tanks. “Watch out!” Alden yelled, but it was too late. There was the briefest moment of panic, but before either pilot could do anything the rocket slammed into the tail. The force of the impact caused Alden to jump back. Quickly flipping the switch to the other copter, he watched as a giant ball of burning metal plummeted to the Earth below.

“My left flank is being torn apart,” Daniel shouted at Gabriel. “The package is unprotected! What should I do?”

“I-I don’t know,” Gabriel stammered.

“We’re going to lose the package!”

Mary picked up on the silence and turned back to the command console. “Gabriel, we have to move troops in to support them.”

Alden added, “You have to pull the soldiers and heavy equipment off the right flank and focus on reinforcing the troops defending the package.”

“The right flank won’t have a chance, they’ll be slaughtered...” Gabriel stared blankly at the command map, he was pale as snow.

“Mary!” Alden took charge. “Tell your tanks to stop defending the right flank. Focus their fire on the left. Move your mech over there as fast as you can to reinforce the soldiers that are still fighting. Switch him to incendiary ammo, light them up!”

“Daniel, tell your entire second line to move over to the left. The protection of that package is their number one priority. Failure is not an option; give them hell!” Alden switched back to his own team. “Copter one, cover the mech and push the attacking force into sector G7.”

Alden’s hands hovered over the screen, pressing keys in a blur of motions. All of the drones moved off the rear line and engaged the left flank. Alden held his breath as a massive swath of green dots moved in to reinforce the left flank. Seconds dragged by as the allied force disappeared off the map faster than he could count. But then something happened: the forward progression of the red dots slowed, and then began falling back. The copter and mech both began pushing the attacking force into the choke point.

“Valkyrie One, come in,” Alden said.

“This is Valkyrie One. What are your orders?”

“Field command is under fire. Most of the incoming heat has been isolated to these coordinates.” Alden typed several navigational keys into the computer. “Hit it!”

For a few moments nothing happened; the friendly casualties continued to mount. A barrage of rockets exited the forest and slammed into the remaining mech, obliterating the command module on the top half. The burnt remnants of the legs collapsed to the ground. With the momentum changing, the red dots began to advance once more.

“Mary, tell the heavy armor to increase their range. Pound that position.” It looked as if the forest was self-destructing. The advancing army dropped back once more. At that moment the Valkyrie streaked across the sky. The jet was flying so low that it buzzed the copter as it flew past.

Alden switched over to the copter’s view just as the forest jumped into the sky like a series of fireworks consisting of foliage, fire and earth. It was a blinding display of light. He waited for the effect to register on his console. Moments later, seventy-five percent of the red dots vanished.

Daniel and Mary stared at the screens in disbelief. The remaining forces stopped attacking and fell back into the forest for good. As much as you could call it, they had won. Alden glanced down at the screen to register the casualties they’d sustained. The right flank had been wiped out.

At that moment the screen went blank, the overhead light switched back on and General Sokolov walked forward.

“What? Was this another test?” Daniel fumed.

“Everything I do is a test.”

“Why?” Mary asked.

“You will not be students much longer. In the real world, you won’t have the shelter of this room. We have to make sure that when the time comes you’re able to make the tough decisions. That you’ll follow orders and complete your assignment. We’ll debrief the mission at 1800.”

Sokolov turned to Alden. “Well done; dismissed!” With that, he headed out of the room.

Alden wasn’t sure he wanted to see how his team reacted to the extremely rare show of support by Sokolov. He had just done what was necessary to accomplish the mission.

Mary and Daniel both wore wide smiles and seemed genuinely happy for him.

Gabriel walked up, and patted him on the back. “I knew you had it in you.” He gave him a comforting smile but as he turned to walk out of the room he added, “If this had been a real scenario, wonder how many people we would have gotten killed?”

Alden was back in the dimly lit bathroom on the lunar surface, still staring at himself in the mirror. How many people had he sacrificed? It seemed so much easier back then; he was just following orders. Reaching for a towel, he dried the sweat off his face.

A knock sounded at the door. Alden moved back into the bedroom, grabbed his handgun from under the pillow and pointed it at the door. Could it be Kira? Had she returned after all? It was only 5 a.m. After several moments, he realized that no one was coming through. He slipped the weapon into the back of his pants and opened the door; Thereon stood in the entryway. “Sorry for the early morning call, I hope that I’m not disturbing you?”

Alden shook his head. “I never get more than a few hours sleep.”

“Me either. I never understood how people could sleep their lives away. One moment you’re here,” he trailed off. “Anyways, I was wondering if you’d like to accompany me for a walk.”

“Sure.” Alden reached back into the room, picked his shirt off the floor, slipped into his shoes, and then stepped into the hallway.

“I assumed Kira would be here too.”

“It’s not like that,” Alden said.

“I meant nothing by it,” Thereon responded innocently enough. As they walked, he continued speaking, “I actually wanted to apologize for our little incident last night.”

“You did what you had to do in order keep your people safe. I’ll never fault you for that.”

“True. I just wish there were other ways to go about it. These are dangerous times we live in.”

Alden nodded. “You’ve got that right.”

“I’ve been meaning to ask you, how are things back on Terra these days? We don’t receive much unbiased coverage up here. Only what the Council wants us to see.”

“Things are tense. The Three Nations share no cohesive strategy on how to deal with their energy crisis. Tensions along the borders grow more perilous by the day. There’s a near constant stream of international incidents and I think it’s only going to take one mistake to set the whole place off.”

At the end of the hallway Alden was able to view the main cavernous room. The occasional person wandered from one spot to another, but otherwise the patients and medical staff were fast asleep.

Thereon tapped him on the shoulder to follow, and they headed downstairs. “The patients who could be moved were helped back to their apartments to rest and recuperate. The dead have been carried off for burial.”

“Do they always attack with such lethal force?” Alden asked.

Thereon sighed. “It’s become more common. They always try to make an example out of the situation. It usually backfires and we end up recruiting more supporters out of it.” He looked back at Alden. “You’re a case in point.”

“So are you the founder of the resistance then?” Alden asked.

“Me? No.” Thereon reached the bottom of the stairs and headed back into the colony. “I just fell into it. When we lost our leader there wasn’t any other capable or willing person to take over. It doesn’t matter how hard you work to conceal your identity or the movement of ranks, they always find out. When they do, you become a target. I’ll do it for now, and I’m sure somebody will take over when I’m gone.”

“That’s a fairly fatalistic way to look at things.”

“When you’ve been around as long as I have, you realize it’s just…practical.”

“What happened to the last leader?”

“To be honest I see myself more as a caretaker and less as a leader. Our true leader was taken from us many years ago. Dozens of men and women have stood up in his stead. In the end, they all end up dead, one way or the other. If you hadn’t rescued me in the pub, I would have joined them.”

They emerged into a tall, narrow marketplace. There were several floors of various types of shops above them. Thereon walked to a small coffee stand and gave a little girl a few coins in exchange for two hot cups of liquid. He handed one to Alden. The freshly brewed aroma wafted up into his nostrils and for a fleeting moment he felt like he was back on the Island. Father McKinley always had a pot going when he came to visit.

“Thanks.” Alden took a sip. “I just did what anybody else would have done.”

“No you didn’t. People are so afraid of losing their own heads that bravery and self-sacrifice are hard to come by…unless it involves a suicide vest,” he finished, half mumbling.

Alden sipped again as they continued walking through the market. Shopkeepers stood next to random collections of food, scavenged trinkets and junk. Who would ever fight and die for this existence?

“Why do people choose to live down here?” Alden finally asked.

“Safety is the simplest answer. The full story is far more complex. Did you learn how the lunar war started when you were in the Terran military?”

“Actually, no,” Alden responded. The term
war
struck him as odd, seemed a bit of a stretch.

“I’m not surprised. The Alliance hates it when they don’t appear to be in control.”

“I just think they’re too focused on themselves. The only time they’re concerned with the lunar colonies is when there’s a disruption in the supply of H-3 or a terrorist attack.”

“Occasionally, some idiot gets the idea to sabotage the manufacturing process, but all that happens is the Senate passes more laws, people disappear and more troops arrive. In hindsight I guess your answer is good, the less they know about us the better.”

As they rounded a corner, Alden sidestepped to avoid a pair of heavily-armed resistance fighters on patrol.

“If you ask anyone, they’ll tell you the war started nearly twenty-five years ago. Four individuals came together in defense of their quickly-dissolving freedoms. It was financially backed by Stefan and Constantine West. You’ve already met their son, Caleb. I only met them once, when I was a child. They were the nicest people you could ever hope to meet. They were also the first couple to be worth over a trillion dollars, you know. If the opportunity had ever arisen, they probably could have bought most of the lunar surface. The third member was Alexander Hawkins.”

Time seemed to slow, the sound of Thereon’s voice hit Alden so hard it knocked the wind out of him. All he could see was red. The name kept ringing through his head, over and over again. Taking a deep breath he forced himself to remain calm.

Thereon was still talking “…quite literally the smartest man alive.”

Alden’s heart was racing; he suppressed a shudder. Liar! You’re the one selling weapons for him! Alden cleared his throat once more. “I’ve heard rumors that he’s producing and selling weapons in the black markets on Earth. They say they’re coming through Apollo City.”

“Sadly, that’s all they are, rumors. If high-tech specialized weapons were coming through Apollo City I’d be the first to know. We’d also be better equipped, with more resources to feed and protect our people with.”

Alden wanted to grab Thereon and throw him against the wall. Force the information out of him. Yell at him for being Alexander’s contact. For supporting the militarization of the conflict back on Earth.