“Dammit,” he yelled, slipping backwards. His knife flew from his hand and hit the field, sparks flew as the blade shot back and wedged itself into the metal by his leg.
“You really need to do something about that temper, if you fall from here I doubt I will be able to revive you if you break your neck,” Alpha Nine mused.
“If I break my neck finding you all a way out then it is a worthy death,” he said, pulling the knife from its spot and looking at the charred mark the field had made on its blade. “It must be a camouflage for the facility.”
“Wait,” Alpha Nine said squinting as he looked past Tango Five.
“I think the blade shorted the field a little, see there,” he said, pointing close to the spot the knife hit, careful not to touch the field itself.
“I see it too,” Tango said, staring at the tiny mark and re-sheathing his blade. “It looks like a speck on the glass of a perfectly clean window.”
“Let’s climb down, and figure out a way to short the whole thing.”
“I’ve got a faster way.” Tango Five slid down the top sail and landed on the next. He leapt from each sail until he landed rather impressively on his feet at the bottom.
“See?”
Alpha Nine smirked, then followed him the same way down, he too landed perfectly on his feet, and with little to no sound.
“Help me open this panel,” Tango Five instructed as he pulled his knife from its sheath and pried at the sides of the panel by the door.
“What do you plan to do?” Alpha Nine asked, grabbing his knife and prying at the other side. The cover came away revealing a mess of wires.
“Give me a sec, I have to move some stuff around. We wouldn’t want our friends inside to lose power,” Tango Five winked then set back to work. He stripped wires, rejoined them to others and combined a few into bundles. The whir and buzz of the equipment inside could still be heard through the door.
“I hope you know what you are doing,” Alpha Nine said as he watched Tango Five group then yank another set of wires free. He looked at him and squinted his eyes.
“Really?” he asked Alpha Nine, but didn’t wait for a reply. He turned back to the panel and continued what he was doing and when he was done the panel was a mess but he stood looking proud of himself as he held out a bundle of wires to Alpha Nine.
“Take this, but be careful not to touch the end of the wires, you don’t want to be electrocuted.” He smiled sagely while those in the initial group frowned at his poor joke. The other duplicates looked around confused.
“Okay, when I say go, get your exposed end of the wire and put it against the lower section of the force field,” Tango Five explained. “I’ll climb up the top again with another wire and we will blast it.”
“But the pods inside, if they lose power, they could die, right?” Bravo Two questioned.
“I fixed that. They are on their own power source. I made a few adjustments to the facility too, some of the earlier recycling methods will now defend the facility.”
“Really?” Bravo asked, surprised.
“It isn’t anything too major, if someone tries to get through without the access codes Alpha put in place, the lines that fed the maze now feed some of the doorways in.”
“What about the ones still growing? If they wake up could they activate it by accident?” November Ten asked, coming to stand beside Bravo Two. “They won’t know about the changes, or the code.”
“It only affects those trying to get in, not out. They should be fine,” Tango Five said, holding up the wires to Alpha again. “Oh, you might want to step out of this door way too, it is closing.”
Bravo Two held out her hand to take the wires from Tango Five. “I will do it.”
Tango Five looked to Alpha Nine for confirmation.
Bravo Two scoffed and held out her hand. "I said I can do it."
After a sneaky nod from Alpha Nine, Tango Five handed her the bundle of live wires, careful not to touch the ends.
Alpha Nine’s heart raced as he watched her walk towards the lower field, her hips moved a little as she took each step and he found his eyes watching each subtle swing.
“Get ready,” Tango Five called as he climbed the sails again which woke Alpha Nine out of his daze. He had to jog a little to catch up to Bravo Two.
“You okay Alpha Nine?” Kilo One asked, smiling beside him at the edge of the lower field.
“I am fine,” Alpha Nine replied. “Why do you ask?”
“You looked a little distracted, that is all,” he smirked again.
Alpha didn’t have time to respond, Tango Five called out from above them.
“On three.”
Alpha Nine and the others nodded, ready for the call.
“One…Two…Three,” Tango Five said and Bravo Two pushed her wires forwards. The doors to the facility closed completely and the force field lit up with electricity, the sky crackled, hissed and burst with bright orange lights.
Alpha grabbed Bravo Two and pulled her back from the field as the others stepped back too, moving to stand against the facility walls as the sky above them lit up with light and fire, sending sparks to the dirt. Alpha looked up but couldn’t see Tango Five.
“Tango Five report,” he yelled but there was no reply. The sparks fell and the illusion faded before their eyes, revealing a world very much alive.
“Wow,” Tango Five said, dropping down in front of Alpha Nine. Alpha Nine shot out a hand and grabbed him by the sleeve.
“Why didn’t you answer?” Alpha asked, furrowing his brow and pulling Tango Five closer.
“What?” Tango Five yelled back, far too loud considering their proximity.
“Read my lips,” Alpha Nine mouthed slowly, realising that his hearing must have been damaged in the blast. “Your hearing should repair itself soon, keep beside November Ten, stay in back until you are okay.”
Tango Five nodded his reply and went to stand beside November Ten. She wasn’t looking at him and Tango turned to follow her gaze.
The world wasn’t dust and debris. Sure there was a fair amount of crumbling buildings, but the harbor remained full of water, littered with junk and there were people too.
Several men ran from the area, while some cowered behind cars and buildings. A few came rushing forwards, a soldier wearing tan fatigues, an officer and two civilian men wearing tattered suits.
The officer came at them gun drawn.
“Put your hands on your head,” he bellowed, his eyes darting to the building behind them.
Alpha Nine stepped forwards raising his hands by his head.
“We’re in Sydney?” he asked the officer.
“Yep, what happened to the Opera House?”
“What do you mean?”
The officer lowered his gun slightly but his fingers quivered on the handle ready to raise it again if need be.
“No one has been in there since the attack. The Annoronians came, they took so many, we hid those that we could but they didn’t leave us with many. That place is sanctioned. It is against the law for anyone to attempt to go inside, there were barriers, electric fences. Wait. Are those women?”
“Um, yeah, why?” A blank look crossed the officers face.
“Stand down officer.” The voice attached to the order was familiar, not as monotone as he had last heard it but he was sure it was her.
The officer lowered his weapon completely, holstering it. The men around him eased, many of them not even bothering to look their way.
“You--but how? We found your body, you died in the control room.” Alpha Nine struggled with his disbelief as the woman who sent many of them to their deaths stepped around the officer and stood in front of them. Very much alive.
“That was my duplicate. I too am a product of the system you grew within. We were the first, we were the ones to fight the battle. The facilities were all shut down after the war, yours should have been shut down with it. Where is your facility, where did you come from?”
Alpha didn’t answer
her question. He shot a look to the others before taking a step closer to her.
“What did your duplicate have to gain by staying in the control room and keeping the facility running? By making more of us, killing more of us?”
“She must have shielded your lab somehow, removed all records of its existence. I do not know what her plan was.”
“Well whatever it was, it sucked,” said Bravo Two. “She killed so many of us with those ridiculous phases.”
“But you survived,” the woman said, a smirk creeping onto her face. It looked odd seeing emotion on her. “Follow me and we will explain more.” She turned and walked away.
“Or you could tell us here,” Alpha offered, holding his hands up to halt those in his group who had begun to take step. The men all looked up at him at the same time but returned quickly to what they were doing.
Doctor M stopped and turned to face him slowly, the same odd smile on her face.
“The records of the war are stored nearby,” she said taking a single step towards Alpha. “You can see for yourself what came of this world.”
Alpha was hesitant, but he didn’t really have a choice. They needed answers, and by the looks of this world they were definitely late to the party. He nodded curtly and followed her, as too did the others behind him.
They followed the Doctor duplicate through Circular Quay, many of the buildings still stood, but were damaged beyond repair. The docks at the end of the harbour barely recognisable, only the pillars sticking out of the dark water remained.
“Up this way,” the Doctor duplicate said as she led them though a park, its grass still green, but barely. The blades of grass crunched under each step.
“She didn’t know the Opera House was the lab,” Bravo Two whispered beside Alpha Nine, her warm breath sending a shiver down his spine.
“No, but she has to know it is nearby,” he replied, shaking off the tingles under his skin.
“Where are you leading us?” Bravo Two called to the Doctor duplicate.
She stopped before the remains of a statue, Alpha stopped beside her and his group followed suit. The feet of whatever figure stood on top remained, but the surrounding structure sat in piles of debris, another victim of the war they had missed.
The Doctor duplicate turned and scanned the group all awaiting instruction from Alpha Nine. Her eyes squinted a little and in that moment Alpha Nine saw the woman who had sent the duplicates to their deaths in the phases. Perhaps the original Doctor and her duplicate were more alike than he first thought.
“The Annoronians are still around,” she said, looking to the clouded sky. Alpha didn’t look, but he sensed the others behind him as they glanced up. “They send scout ships to try to capture what women we have left; I would rather get you to a safe place first. Please follow me. It is a little further.”
Alpha wasn’t sure if she could be trusted but he looked at Bravo Two beside him. If there was a chance the Annoronians were still around, it would be easier to protect Bravo Two and the others from a more secure, less open space.
“Lead the way,” he said to the her, signaling for the others to continue to follow. “But it better not be far.”
“I promise,” she said, inclining her head to the side and smiling as a chill ran up Alpha's spine. “There, that building up ahead, that is where we are going, where you will be safe.”
“This doesn’t feel right,” Bravo Two whispered, keeping step with Alpha Nine.
“It will be fine. Let’s see what they can tell us about what has happened,” Alpha Nine whispered to her as they walked towards what looked like a castle. The word ‘music’ could still be seen on what remained of the sign that stood in front of the stone doorway.
“This way,” Doctor M said as she stepped through the large doors. The main entry was empty except for a lone young man who sat bolt upright at the sight of them. The large white desk he sat behind looked out of place for such an old building.
“Doctor M,” the young man said, nodding at the Doctor duplicate as she walked by him. He then looked at Alpha Nine and nodded, his lips slightly upturned in a forced smile. His skin was pale and slightly waxy. Alpha Nine looked up at the old-style tube lighting that illuminated the entryway.
“This way please, if you will,” Doctor M said as she opened the door to an enormous room. A large stage sat at the other end of a sloped walkway lined by many rows of seats. An organ like you would see in a church took up most of the back of the stage, and the walls surrounding them were covered by thick black curtains that hung from the upper balcony down to the floor.
“Take a seat where you like, I will get the Director, he will explain what has happened and where we stand now.”
“Where we stand?” Alpha Nine asked, walking a few rows down.
“Well, I am sure you are all eager to help in whatever way you can. You might have missed the war but you are still very valuable,” Doctor M looked at Bravo Two when she said valuable. Alpha Nine moved slightly in front of her.
“We are eager to learn of our world, and I am sure we can still be of service,” Alpha Nine answered as she stepped behind the large black curtain surrounding the walls of the enormous space.
The group filed in behind Alpha Nine and waited to take instruction.
“We don’t really have a choice,” he said to the group. “We need to know what has happened, take a seat and we will see what they can offer us.”
"I really don't like this. We should have stayed on level ground," Bravo Two said, her eyes scanning their surroundings.
"I won't let anything happen to you."
Her attention switched to him and she seemed to struggle back her frustrations. "I appreciate it, but we have a whole team to protect. How do we watch each other's back if we're surrounded?"
"It will be okay. Trust me."
The fight left her and she sunk into a seat. Alpha Nine's neck grew warm as he realised she really did trust him. He couldn't let her down.
He sat along with Bravo Two and the rest followed their lead. A few tossed the supply bags onto the floor in front of them as their large group easily filled the second half of the lower floor.
Alpha Nine sat looking at Bravo Two’s hand clenching the armrest at her side.
The sharp click of various gun’s safeties being removed jerked him and the others to attention. But it was a second too late. They were surrounded.
Alpha Nine grabbed Bravo Two’s hand. “Bravo, I…”
“Save it,” she said snatching her hand back. Above them armed men stood along the balconies, their weapons pointed straight at Alpha Nine.
“Do not be alarmed,” Doctor M said, stepping out from behind the curtain along with an elderly man in uniform-- a general based on his insignia.
“You must be the Director,” Alpha Nine said, eyeing the armed men above them and checking for the exits.
“Do not be alarmed by the men, they are for my protection as we do not know who you are, or your intentions.”
“Who we are?” Bravo Two said sweeping her hands towards the group behind them. “We are not the threat; we are the solution. Or we were supposed to be. What the hell happened with the Annoronians?”
“Please sit back down, I will happily tell you what has happened here. First I would like to welcome you all to the new world,” he began.
Alpha Nine signaled for his group to sit again, with the guns pointed at them they had no choice.
“We lost the war against the Annoronians,” the Director begun, pacing across the front of the stage as he spoke. “They took eighty five percent of our female population. Thirty percent of our male population died trying to save them. What we do have left we hide in case they return. They may have surveillance; they could still come back for the rest. Your females will not be able to leave this place. They will be taken to a secure location where they will contribute to the rebuilding of our race.”
“What do you mean contribute?” Alpha Nine questioned, edging forwards.
“No way!” Bravo Two jumped to her feet.
“That is not your decision. You are a solider built for war, you will fall in line,” the Director ordered.
“The hell I will,” Bravo Two spat.
“You will fall in line!” the Director called again, his voice echoing around the theatre. He gestured to the men above and they all cocked their weapons ready to fire on the group.
Alpha Nine looked at Bravo Two beside him then to the others; they all waited on him to decide, for him to make the call. There was no way he'd fail her again.
“We don’t take orders,” Alpha Nine said as he leapt over the seat and momentarily perched on the back of the chair in the next row. Using his heightened abilities, he tore across the chair backs towards the stage. Towards the Director.
Shots were fired behind him, but he stayed the course. Alpha Nine launched the final meter to the stage and was hit mid-air. The guard blitzed him from the side, and they both hit the stage floor, sliding meters from the Director.
The guard's fist impacted the side of Alpha’s face. Heat rose to the surface of his skin, his hands covering his face in time to defend from the next blow.
Alpha Nine stretched his legs wide then brought them over the guard, crossing them against his back and hooking his feet together. The guard arched against the pressure and it gave Alpha Nine the moment he needed to strike.
Alpha heaved his right palm up, catching the guard under the chin and sending his head to an awkward angle.
Unlinking his legs, he brought his right one over the guard’s head and as his hands held tight to his arms, Alpha twisted their bodies into position.
With a faint crack the guard’s eyes lost all life and Alpha loosened his hold.
Kicking the lifeless body away he dashed the few steps to the Director.
Grabbing the him by the shoulders, Alpha Nine spun him in his grasp, a human shield against the guards firing.
Most no longer held weapons.
Alpha’s team had taken his cue and scaled the curtains to the balconies to disarm them. When the last solider was no longer a threat, Alpha let go of the Director and pushed him to the floor.
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