by Gavin Magson
At his voice everyone in the room turned to face Jerry as the flash illuminated all in sight, followed by an almighty roar as the ground beneath them shook. Once the flash subsided the occupants were able to unclench their eyes and see the aftermath.
“Who the fuck called in ordinance?” shouted Miles.
In the distance, where there had once been a row of buildings, the party were greeted with the sight of mass destruction. Blazing rubble was raining down from the sky, the remains of those buildings that had been obliterated by the blast. Once the echoes of the blast died away all was silent, not a single sound could be heard over the wind.
Rex pulled out his tablet and loaded up the map of Seven. He moved the image from their location until it rested over the still burning area; not a single tablet belonging to a mercenary showed on the screen.
“If any of Rine’s mercs were out there I doubt they made it, I’m not picking up a single marker.” said Rex.
Miles rushed to Jerry’s side and scanned the surrounding buildings for signs of life, alert in case anyone had been attracted to the area because of the explosion. He was about to step out onto the snow when he felt his pocket begin to vibrate. Miles reached his hand inside and was surprised to see Aiko’s name on the screen.
“Is Ajax with you?” asked Aiko before he had time to speak.
“No, I haven’t heard from him yet. I don’t think he is in the sector.” replied Miles.
Aiko went silent, Miles could not even hear the woman breathe. For what seemed an age there came no words from her; Miles could guess what she might next ask, and the thought made him sick.
“Did something happen within the last minute? His marker, along with a dozen more, disappeared a few streets away from you.” said Aiko.
“Fuck! Are you sure, are you absolutely sure that he was there?”
“I’ve been staring at this display trying to figure out how he could just disappear like that, of course I am sure that he was there. Tell me what happened.” Aiko’s voice was but a whisper by the time she ended her sentence, what little Miles could hear was shaking in fear.
“I don’t know how else I can say this, Aiko; if he was at that location there is no chance Ajax survived. There was an explosion that has taken out most buildings in sight; there is nothing left.”
Miles held the tablet to his ear, listening to the quiet sobs of Aiko as she tried to process the news. He signalled to the two men to gear up and watched as they checked their weapons and collected equipment scattered around on the ground.
“Aiko, we are going to investigate the area and see if we can find any sign of him. An explosion that big could have damaged his tablet, it is not confirmation of his death. I’ll contact you as soon as I know something; don’t give up hope.”
“Thanks, Miles. If you find him, please try to bring him back.” The connection ended with a click and Miles stowed the tablet away in his pocket.
Neither Rex nor Jerry wanted to voice just how futile it would be to search for Ajax in the ruins left behind, yet they owed the man enough to at least attempt to search for him.
“Rose, we have to leave, for now. I can setup a boobytrap at the entrance, but I can’t guarantee that will be enough to deter an assault on this building. I’d recommend that you left for Six and found the guesthouse; you’ll be safe there.”
“Agreed. I’ll see you there.” And with that Rose and Ward disappeared upstairs, presumably to grab what possession they had brought.
“Rex, get the generator going and see how many exo’s you can set to charge; we might be needing them when we return. I’ll get my rifle from upstairs and leave a trap at the entrance for anyone drawn by the noise; we don’t want to return to a building full of hostiles. I won’t be long.” said Miles.
As his leader disappeared up the stairs Rex walked over to the old generator and moved the clutter blocking his access out of the way. Jerry followed with a can of fuel he had found whilst Miles and Aiko were conversing, its dull pink colour staining the once clear container the fuel was held within.
“Looks like shit but the generator is in good condition, hopefully all it will need is some persuasion. Have you any idea how to check the fuel level?” asked Rex.
Jerry ran his hand over the grime covered yellow casing of the generator, smearing the layers of muck until he could make out the writing underneath. The words guided him towards a small cap that resisted heavily as he attempted to twist it free, finally relenting as his muscles bunched with the effort required.
Jerry pulled out a torch from the front of his jacket and shone the light down into the fuel reserve. It took him awhile to determine that there actually was fuel within the tank, though the level was dangerously low. He stowed the torch away once more and removed the stopper from the fuel container at his feet.
“Don’t use too much of the fuel, Jerry.” instructed Rex. “Maybe put a third of that in, but we want to hide the rest in case we come back for anymore of the suits.”
Jerry did as he was told and carefully poured the volatile liquid into the fuel reserve, moving his head back as he did to avoid inhaling the addictive fumes. When the container was a third empty he gingerly raised it at an angle, ensuring not to spill the fuel as he did so.
When Jerry moved out of his way Rex gripped a wide handle set within the generator with both hands and pulled until it had fully extended. He twisted the handle through ninety degrees until it locked in place, then he steadied his footing with a wide stance.
A gauge directly below his line of sight showed that there was no charge built up to turn the generator over. Rex pushed down on the handle with as much strength as he could muster, feeling the resistance until the handle was almost flat against the generator housing. Rex pulled the handle up and plunged it back down, repeating this four more times as the gauge filled up.
As the gauge reached its maximum Rex twisted the handle back to its original position and gave it an almighty push back into the generator. He felt the motor within crank over once, then lethargically it did so a second time. Rex thought that he had not been swift enough when the motor cranked a third time and, with a puff of blue smoke and a whine as it resisted the movement, the generator limped into life.
“I’ve already hooked up the leads to three exo’s.” said Jerry, passing Rex three pairs of thick cables that trailed over to the closest suits. “Best hurry before Miles gets back.”
Jerry checked the connections available on the generator before connecting the leads one at a time. After each pair was connected the generator pitch changed marginally as it struggled under the increased load; each time Rex feared it would grind to a halt.
“Are there any indicators to show that they are charging?” asked Rex.
Jerry checked the suit closest to him, crouching low to inspect the folded suit. Underneath the chest piece he could just see a faint blinking blue light next to the charge indicator, which he assumed meant that power was being stored within the large batteries behind the thick plating of the suits rear. He did the same for the other suits and was relieved to see that they were also charging.
“Have you managed to get a suit to charge?” asked Miles as he came into view on the staircase.
“It looks like we’ve successfully got three charging at the moment. I’ve asked Jerry to save most of the fuel in case we have time to come back for more of the suits; their monetary worth is difficult to ignore.” answered Rex.
Miles nodded his agreement and crossed the floor until he was just out of sight of anyone looking at the ruined doorway from outside, close to the left-hand wall of the building. Miles held six small translucent discs within his hand, three of which he placed vertically up the wall behind him. The discs were evenly spaced apart and faced the wall opposite.
Rose and Ward came down the staircase, now wrapped in several military jackets and some hastily modified white bedsheets that they had salvaged from the room Miles and Rex had forced open. Neither paused to observe what Je
rry and Rex were doing with the exo-suits, instead heading straight for the exit. Miles moved out of their way and presented Rose with a pistol he kept as spare.
“I don’t know if you taught your boy how to shoot, but now might be the time for some quick life lessons. It’s clean and loaded, but I’ve no spare magazine save the one loaded.”
Rose took the gun, checked that the safety was on, and passed it down to Ward. The boy seemed unfazed by the gesture, checking the breech and removing the magazine to count the rounds as if it were second nature.
“You grow up fast or not at all in the slums.” Rose chuckled at her comment but ignored the momentary flash of pity on Miles’ face. “Thank you for the gun, I’d rather have stuck around a little longer to enjoy a warm meal. We’ll head to Six and should see you in a day or two, I hope.”
“Be safe out there.” spoke Miles.
Miles brought up his own rifle and scanned what little could be seen outside of the building, moving across from Rose to confirm her route was, relatively, clear. He gave her a short nod and before Miles could say another word the pair had left, almost invisible against the whiteout after only a few steps.
Miles moved back to the task at hand and, by pressing his thumb onto the centre of each disk, he initialised the explosives and they began emitting a thin, dim beam of blue light that shone onto the opposite wall. Miles checked once again that there were no signs of life visible from the doorway and crossed to where the blue dots marked the placement of the final three disks.
“If you’re ready now is the time to strike, we don’t want to arrive after any scavengers have shown up.” said Miles.
Rex and Jerry each donned a pair of goggles before approaching the doorway. What little light had been offered by the winter sun was fading fast and they activated the night vision lenses built within. The resulting change to their vision was drastic, where once there were shadows now everything danced with a silvery white hue. It was disorientating at first but soon the men became accustomed to the change.
Miles motioned for them to stand guard outside whilst he finished arming the trap. When the men were safely outside Miles strapped the rifle to his back and checked his pockets to ensure he was not leaving anything behind. Once satisfied that he was ready to depart Miles once again pressed his thumb on the centre of each disk, which resulted in the beams of light disappearing from the visible spectrum. A series of five quiet bleeps one second apart signified that the devices were about to be armed.
“If, for whatever reason, I don’t come back with you guys, do not step foot in that building. That trap will be a nasty surprise for anyone stupid enough to go blundering into there, and I wouldn’t want to be the one scraping your remains off the walls.” warned Miles.
Their leader strapped a pair of matching goggles to his head, activated the night vision, and loped off into the snow. Rex shared a knowing look with Jerry and ploughed forwards to follow in Miles deep footsteps, whilst Jerry scoured the path behind them for signs of life before following the two men.
Miles flattened himself against the skeletal remains of the building, keeping his head turned so that his hearing wasn’t fully compromised by the howling wind. When Rex arrived the man’s laboured breathing could hardly be heard, it was only because Miles’ head was turned that he knew of Rex’s approach at all.
“Can you see anything through this fucking snow?” screamed Rex.
His mouth was close enough to Miles that the man could feel the hot breath on his neck, which almost instantly cooled to form a thin layer of ice on his skin.
“Barely, but that is good for us. The less we can see means that anyone out there with a gun is less likely to spot you or me. You can cover me whilst I scout ahead, no sense having all three of us mowed down. See if you can position yourself higher up in what’s left of this building, keep Jerry nearby; I won’t be long.”
Miles edged along the brickwork until he reached a hole where the wall once had been. The mangled wreckage of what could have been a hover was still smouldering to Miles’ left, and the trail of shattered bricks leading to it suggested the hover was responsible for the demolished wall.
He peered around the corner and surveyed the destruction left behind first hand. Miles’s breath caught in his throat as he stepped out of the wall’s sanctuary; the scene was pure carnage. He navigated his way slowly around wreckage formed from the high-speed shrapnel that had been launched by the blast, mindful to stick to the shadows as much as he could.
From his position it was just possible to see what would have been the epicentre of the blast, as where there once was civilisation all that had been left behind was a crater at least two hundred feet wide. At the outskirts of the blast several buildings remained partially standing, yet the closer to the explosions source less and less remained.
Miles felt the sudden buzz of his tablet from a pocket and was thankful that his men weren’t close enough to hear him curse from the shock it had given him. He moved ahead until he reached two standing sections of wall that met to form a lee from the wind, only then did he answer the call.
“I’m sorry, Miles, I could not wait any longer. My system is showing that the three of you are close to Ajax’s last know location. Is there any sign of him?” asked Aiko.
Miles looked around him, the chaos that had been caused by such an explosion was difficult to comprehend. It was impossible to believe there was a chance of survival.
“Aiko, there is nothing left. Most of the buildings aren’t even standing anymore; I don’t know where to begin looking for him. Can you direct me to his last coordinates? That’s the only lead right now on his location.”
Despite the wind Miles could hear the sobs that came from Aiko as she prepared directions for him. Miles had seen plenty of comrades die over his many years, most he could no longer picture they had been dead that long. Unless some miracle happened he was certain that Ajax would join that list. Despite having had friends die before it did not get any easier, he couldn’t help but wish the man had found some miraculous way to escape the destruction.
“Head northeast from your current position until you join a short street, if it is still there. He was almost central along it, if you are able to make out where the street was intersected you’ll be close to where he last was. Call me when you reach the position, or if you need further directions. Good luck.”
Aiko ended the call and Miles was left with cold dread within him. He stepped out of his shelter and looked northeast at the centre of a crater wide enough to have ensured any living thing within its circumference was beyond dead. An explosion so large most likely had to have been fired from a ship, which begged the question as to who had that kind of resource at their disposal. What bothered him the most was that both gang members and mercenaries would have been killed by the blast; neither side was that insane that they’d sacrifice so many lives.
Miles trudged through the snow, thankful that several layers of it had been removed by the shockwave. He headed for what he presumed was the street Aiko referred to, though it was only through inspecting the ruins for a straight edge that he could determine where the road once lay. He kept a watchful eye for any hostiles, but the snow whipped around by the wind everywhere he turned caused the night vision system to overcompensate and brightly illuminate everything. Miles could not stand the distorted view any longer and toggled a switch on the left side of his goggles that powered down the system.
Losing night vision limited him to what little could be seen from the pale light of a winters evening, yet it was better than the disorientating alternative. He stumbled on, almost falling as he reached the outer edge of the crater. Miles stepped down and felt himself gradually descending as he walked on, occasionally kicking debris he didn’t see until it was too late.
Miles kicked something more solid that broken stone and crouched down to avoid falling over it. He could just distinguish that it was part of a building’s foundations, perhaps the beginning of two walls that m
et at a corner. There was no hope of finding remains of a street so close to the epicentre, how could he possibly tell if he was near his destination?
Miles cursed loudly, calling himself a fool for not thinking of his tablet earlier. He removed it from his pocket and shielded the screen as best he could with his left hand as he activated the map. Despite his best attempts the screen shone brightly in the darkness.
Miles rushed to get his bearings, which was easier for Aiko’s explanation of what to look for. He was effectively at the corner of an intersecting street, the icon that represented his current location showed him to be partly within a large building that once stood at the streets corner. He was shown to be northeast of where he had left the two markers indicating Rex and Jerry, which suggested Miles had stumbled in the correct direction. The map showed that if he were to turn left and round the corner he would be a small distance away from the streets centre.
He quickly exited the map screen and left the tablet on his contacts list, ready to call Aiko. Miles stepped around the corner and walked carefully over the uneven ground, still he felt himself descending with each step. When he stumbled as the ground rose Miles suspected that he had reached the centre of the blast. He tapped Aiko’s name and brought the tablet to his head just as she answered the call.
“You’re right on top of where Ajax last was. Have you seen him?” she asked.
“Aiko, I’m at the epicentre of whatever bomb went off here. Literally the centre of the blast – there is no way he survived this.”
“Are…are you sure? Is there no way he could have made it out alive?”
Miles crouched low once more, surveying the ground for any signs of an escape route; there was nothing to be found.
“Unless Ajax had his tablet taken from him I cannot see a way that he made it out of the blast. I am truly sorry, Aiko, but Ajax is dead. I could try to find something to bring back for you, but its – fuck!”
Miles turned to the source of gunfire, the three muted shots answered by the unmistakeable boom of Jerry’s monstrous shotgun. They were faint, but Miles could make out a series of lights through the snowstorm, most likely from gang members out hunting for trapped mercenaries.