ALL NOVEL Chapter 34: A Red Letter Day
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===[Chapter 34: A Red Letter Day]===
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Heavy. Eli felt as though only that word could describe the feeling running through his core. Heaviness seeped through his limbs, filling his chest, making his thoughts run around in circles. It was a feeling all too familiar, yet potent enough that he hadn’t quite gotten used to it.
The two phantoms executed in front of the crowd refused to leave his thoughts. Over and over again he could hear the gunshot and the ensuing silence. He could feel the dread in the air, stillness choking the crowd as they watched the life force leave the two suspected rebels. And the aftermath. Nobody outside of Misfit could be trusted anymore. Kovic managed to get phantoms to turn on phantoms, and what was once a sacred trust held between penal-unit to never rat each out was tarnished and buried. And somehow, that wasn’t even the biggest of his concerns right now, for Misfit wouldn’t even be here to witness the chaos that was sure to consume the Nexus following Kovic’s vision.
“There’s a lot happening tomorrow. I’m sure some of you know that more than others,” Eli could’ve sworn that the man had glanced directly at him when he’d said that. That might not be true, but Kovic was talking about Misfit. Who else could he have been referring to? Captain Juma said nothing else about other Phantoms being sent to Helena. Only Misfit because of what they had done in Raritan. Misfit would be sent out to perish in Helena while Kovic transformed the Nexus into his miniature police state.
Though it was night, Eli could not sleep. The minutes turned into hours pushing him deeper and deeper into the sleepless night. He couldn’t tell if the others were sleeping or if they were just as restless as he was. He wished more than anything that there was something he could do or say to let them all know that they would be alright, but… nothing. There was nothing at all.
“Eli!”
The sound of someone whispering his name snapped him out of his thoughts. His eyes lolled around, finding Rafael at the far end of the barrack flagging him down. Eli frowned. He didn’t want to hear another lecture from Rafael about being a revolutionary or dying for the cause right now. As a matter of fact, that was just about the last thing he wanted to hear. If Rafael wanted to fight so badly, he could do so on his own.
“Come on Eli, I know you’re awake.”
Well, if he was gonna make it impossible to ignore him, Eli may as well oblige. Not like there was much else to do. Eli cautiously rose, glancing at Rafael whose form was almost totally obscured by the shadows in the rear of the barrack.
“You’ve got some nerve disturbing my beauty sleep,” Eli grumbled to him as he approached.
“Sorry to wake you, princess.”
“What do you want?”
Rafael looked at the floor for a brief moment before rising back up to meet his eyes. There was something hollow looking about the man. Eli wasn’t exactly sure how to put it, but something was definitely wrong with him. He looked frightened in a way that he’d never seen Rafael before. He wasn’t literally shaking with fear or wide-eyed with paranoia, like he was looking up at an Avonian war machine or something. It was more than that. Something fundamental about his posture, or the way his skin looked ghastly pale in comparison to his normally dark and well-tanned complexion. The way his fingers fiddled around idly, reaching up to obscure parts of his face when they got restless.
“Tomorrow… Helena,” Rafael started, trying to put the pieces of his thoughts together one by one, “We’re in the pipe you know? It’s bad. Really bad.”
“You don’t think I already know that?”
“I know you do, but there’s just… I mean… you know –“ Rafael stopped himself short, closing his eyes and breathing in, “Look. We can’t just ignore what we all saw. They raid the prisoner’s quarter in the middle of the night, round up all the people of interest, and execute them in front of a crowd of prisoners just to tell us that they got them because someone – somewhere – snitched. You know, even if we go to Helena and make it out intact, we’re gonna come back here. And it’s going to be bad. Real bad.”
“I know, Raf. I already fucking know that.”
“We need to do something-“
“Raf! Now isn’t the time for that! Okay? It just isn’t the time for another one of your revolutionary lectures! I realize that Kovic’s got the entire Nexus wrapped around his finger, he’s got everyone running around like headless chickens to join up with him and the regulars.”
Rafael sighed, “Okay, it’s my turn to apologize. I always say these things about revolution and fighting back but the truth is that I’m really saying it because I’m scared…”
“You. Scared?” Eli was for one surprised.
“Always. In fact, I’m terrified. Really since we stepped foot on this planet, you know. I always thought maybe that – you know – I’d be able to convince someone, just one person, to help me fight the pricks because that’s the only way I really truly understand how to be less afraid all the time. But I know that not everyone sees things my way. Except you,” Rafael glanced up briefly, nodding his head with the slight expression of a smile before it faded away into the darkness, “You might not agree with everything I say, Soldier Boy, but you do understand what I’m saying. And that has always been enough, really. Just to know that there’s at least one person here that I can relate to as a human being. I mean, there was Cato. Was. And Badger, of course, I like Badger. She’s really cool. But outside of her, I dunno. You’re the only other one in this entire Nexus that I can say that I trust.”
Eli glanced at the slumbering forms of the others inside of the barracks. He wasn’t sure if they were asleep or not, but Rafael seemed to think they were. It would be difficult for them to hear as the two were whispering, but there was always the chance that someone else could be listening in on them.
“Omar’s too little. Dutch is a friend but he’s had all of his hope beaten out of him, it’s kind of sad. He told me about how he used to be in a rebel group himself. Now he’s just penal-unit,” Rafael sighed.
“What about Matteo?”
Rafael glared at Matteo’s bed, “I can’t hate him… but there are times when I do. He helped you and Dutch save me, and that’s where our relationship ends. That is all I will say.”
Eli figured that Rafael wouldn’t exactly hold Matteo in high regard. Of course, he wasn’t there to always see what they were saying to each other, but having a man who seriously considered sending out half of their own to be turned in to Overwatch’s custody with another who’d rather die than give any further ounce of himself to their control, seemed dubious. It was no surprise that they hadn’t gotten along well.
“He’s just scared, you know? Talk to him, he’s good people,” Eli told him, “He’s just looking out for his kid.”
Rafael shrugged, “I guess. I’m scared too, like I said. I look around me and all I see is nothing but misery. And it feels like it keeps getting worse. I can talk all I want to about one day overthrowing the fascist pigs and bringing our suffering to an end – and trust me, I do mean it when I say that. But at the end of the day, I can’t deny the fact that I’m only human. I’m not fearless. And between the Avonians out there with their big war machines and dragons; and Overwatch turning the Nexus into Nazi-fucking-Germany, I don’t know what to be more afraid of. You know? I guess I can’t blame Matteo for being afraid too.”
“…”
“Look, Eli. I need you to promise me something. I know that you already know this but, Kovic’s gonna promise us a lot of things. He’ll promise us a new home, a perfect one. If he can, he’ll promise us a bunch of rewards we can never dream of so long as we just go along with his vision. What I need from you is to promise me you understand, before we go out and, let’s face it – likely die in Helena,” Rafael shrugged, “No matter what home he claims to have for us, it’ll never match the one they took away. I mean, Utopia, it’s not even a bastardization of our homes, it’s just not real. Matteo may say we should just collaborate to save ourselves the trouble, but not me.”
Rafael shook his head vigorously, “Not me. I would – and I do mean this – I would rather die than live like Juma or any of the other phantoms that they managed to sway over to their side…”
“Why?” Eli asked after a moment of consideration.
“Why what?”
“Why do you keep fighting? Overwatch won. They won a long time ago and there’s nothing we can do to stop them. Why do you think we can still defeat them?”
Rafael glanced up to the roof as if he could find the answer somewhere in the shoddy corrugated metal that lay above their heads. His body weight shifted against the wall, contemplating the question. It was one that had been bothering Eli. Rafael had said this, time and time again, that he was willing to die to fight Overwatch. But what on Earth gave him the idea that it would even amount to anything at all? What could one prisoner, hell even a squad of them do against not just Kovic’s minions – but all of Overwatch Command. They weren’t even insignificant in the face of their total power. They simply weren’t there. Numbers, as Rafael himself had put it. They were just numbers.
“Truthfully?” Rafael shrugged after a moment, “I don’t. But what am I supposed to do, soldier boy? What am I supposed to fight for, if not for my freedom? The fascists have killed my family, my friends. They bombed my home. They divided my country and its people. And they enslaved me. They’ve left me with nothing to lose and everything to gain. I might not win in the end. Hell, I could die and nothing would ever change. But it isn’t really about winning. It never was.”
“It’s about sending a message right?” Eli asked him.
Slowly, and rather unexpectedly, Rafael shook his head, “Deeper than that, soldier boy. Deeper than that. I don’t know how to put it exactly, but there’s something more fundamental at stake. Look… just say that you promise me. Promise me you won’t give in. That’s it. I don’t need a manifesto detailing your commitment to the cause or anything like that. Just keep being you, my friend.”
Eli smiled feeling a twinge of pain surge through his heart. It was heartwarming to hear someone say that, especially someone that he’d secretly admired – if for nothing else than his own persistence in the face of absolute defeat. He owed it to him to at least grant him his one wish. Not just to him, but the others as well. So long as they felt the same way, of course.
“I promise. Always. Kovic can say whatever he wants to, so long as this squad remains intact, nothing is going to change.”
And for the first time in a while, Rafael smiled, “Thanks. Sorry for keeping you up. I know we have a lot to deal with tomorrow and uh, I just wanted to get that off my chest while we have the chance…”
Eli awoke to the sound of laughter. Confused, his crusted eyes opened to observe that it was – of course – Misfit. Specifically, Omar and Matteo. The kid and the old man were both huddled over what looked like an image in a far corner of the room. He couldn’t tell what they were laughing about, but it seemed Matteo was telling the boy stories. Their nature, Eli could not tell.
Golden light shone through the windows, early in the morning. The skies were clear. The morning roll call went on without a hitch. Misfit stood at attention outside of their dormitories as the officers once again passed through to conduct a headcount. Yet, instead of being sent off to the factory floor like they normally were, they were led deeper into the Nexus straight to the armory. They were issued new uniforms and given body armor. A vest, plate carrier, and helmet. The penal-unit’s delta symbol was printed freshly on each of them. Light blue triangle surrounded by an orange circle. Their mark. And lastly, a pack full of equipment. Though it wasn’t too large, it carried the basics. Sorting through all the equipment stuffed within, Eli noted that there was a gas mask packed inside which all but confirmed his worst fears. Even though Captain Juma had made it sound like Misfit wasn't going to be seeing any major combat against the Imperials, the gas mask pretty much guaranteed that the brunt of the Avonian army was waiting for them in Helena. It was foreboding. Without missing a beat, he made sure that the mask was secured inside of his bag so as to not lose it. He learned his lesson watching the gas attack the first time.
After they had received their equipment, the regulars declared them fit for combat. The regulars chipped their monitors, wiping the standard prisoner's schedule clean only to replace it with one made for the penal-unit put on the frontlines with the PCTs. Eli's monitor was now connected straight to Overwatch's communications, and he would be able to talk to whichever monitored his signal. Since Misfit was part of Delta Company, that most likely meant that Captain Juma would be the one monitoring them.
When all the processions were finished, the regulars declared Misfit "ready". Though Eli certainly didn't feel like it. Helena, the capital of The River Republic. He couldn't stop thinking about it. They were going straight into the dragon's lair, an analogy that was probably a lot more literal than he meant. Otaes had given them a basic understanding of the situation when they met, the River Republic was not the same as The Avonian Empire. But, they still were a force to be reckoned with. After all, it was mostly the Riverlander Militia that they fought against during the battle of Raritan. His mind raced through ideas of what awaited them within the city proper, but he quickly refocused. Now was not the time to be afraid.
Without delay, they were escorted to the airfield on the far side of the Nexus. There were ospreys waiting for them, their blades already spinning as crewmen serviced the giant machines. One-by-one they were loaded in and sent off.
As they flew, Eli was given a view of the surrounding land. The Nexus grew smaller, the mountains and surrounding jungle came into view. The green rolling landscape sprawled out before his eyes. And then came the coastline, pristine blue. Light shimmering as the sun reflected off the calm waves. Colorful birds flew over the canopies of the forest, and for a moment Eli felt as though he was back on Earth. He watched Misfit look outside. Their forlorn eyes. Glazed over by feelings of nostalgia and warmth. His mind flashed back to images of himself as a child. A young child, before the storm. Before the Resource Wars and the Space Wars. Before the words “Coalition” and “POA” were even in his peripherals. Before Kovic. Before The Utopia Project. And he felt a piece of his heart melt at the knowledge that he would never live in that old innocent world again. But instead, there was a new world before him. One, although familiar to the old, wasn’t quite the same.
He closed his eyes and waited for the osprey to land.
Less than an hour later, the osprey slowed. Hovering over a battlefield. Some parts of the jungle were on fire, burning with black ash from a blaze that tore through the trees and local flora. Bomb craters crusted the soil, aircraft circled the skies. Out in the distance, the City of Helena. Eli could see the silhouettes of high rises from where they were. The city’s downtown rose above the horizon. A beacon of modernity in a sea of vast jungle.
A city on fire.
Loud explosions echoed from deep within the city’s limits, confirmed by plumes of smoke and ash that rose. Artillery strikes and bombardment. Coalition F-35s traced their way through the open skies. All the while guns on the ground fired up, shooting bright tracers into the air like reverse shooting stars. It was hauntingly beautiful. Yet Eli couldn’t stare for long.
When the osprey touched down, they were ordered to get off immediately. After practically being shoved off the transport by the regulars, Misfit was thrown into the midst of the staging ground. Armored vehicles had been parked out here, serviced by their crew who conducted hasty inspections before the invasion proper would begin. Soldiers were assigned their weapons and equipment before they stowed themselves away in the back of a troop transport. The engines of tanks and the larger armored vehicles roared to life, a combined orchestra of automatons. Armored, deadly, ready to kill.
Regulars handed Misfit weapons and ammunition, escorting them the entire time with their own guns cautiously held. One wrong move, and Eli could imagine that the regulars would have full authority to shoot them. Luckily for them, Eli didn't plan on taking this as an opportunity to break out. They were outnumbered anyway, they probably wouldn't last a full thirty-seconds before they were buried.
The soldiers led Misfit over to an officer standing somewhere in the midst of the staging ground. It was Captain Juma. She stood over a large folding table. A map of the region was sprawled out across it. A few other officers marked points on the map, wrote notes to themselves, and debated about the best course of action. As the regulars and Misfit drew nearer to Juma, Eli could see that the map was of Helena. A bird's eye view of the entire city, from the ports that jutted out into the bay in the city’s southwest, to the downtown area in the city center that a river cut through. She looked up briefly from the map to lock eyes with the regular in charge.
Marker in hand, Juma circled a particular point not too far away from the ports, “Overwatch has made contact with rebels operating within Avonia and the River Republic by the name of the United Liberation Army, ULA. Their commander and local garrison are located somewhere near the ports to the city’s southwest. Your job for today is going to be simple, you’ll rendezvous with the ULA, introduce yourselves to their leader, and once you've established contact - signal for us to come and retrieve you back to The Nexus. Misfit, you follow the lead of Sergeant Bannon and the regulars. Bannon," Juma continued on, "If they act out of line, you know what to do.”
"Yes Ma'am," The Sergeant repeated.
"Misfit, your involvement is necessary here. Since you know a little more about Planet Narva than most of our forces, you'll be here to assist Bannon in cooperating with the locals. Of course, you'll find a couple of familiar faces. The two elves, same duo you've worked with before."
“Temetet and Otaes?” Badger asked.
“I forgot their names,” Juma brushed it off.
“It’s Temetet and Otaes,” Eli confirmed, “Where are they? Are we early?”
Juma shook her head, “No. They’re late.”
And then in the skies, a familiar shape. Like a dragon, though smaller. Massive wings, claws, an eagle's head and a lion's tail. Archer swooped through the skies and landed not too far away. And just as expected, the two elves were riding on top. Temetet and Otaes.
“Those two? I thought we caught the last of them in Raritan,” Dutch whispered.
“They’re the ones who got us out of solitary,” Eli told him, “I never thought we’d see them again.”
“You’re telling me…”
After the dust settled from the landing, the two elves hopped down and approached the squad. The duo looked out of place in the staging ground. Amidst the modern military equipment, the uniformed soldiers, and the engines of war – the two elves stood out as something almost organic. Otaes’ painted mask and telltale red slash across the left eye. Their weapons of sharp spears, bows, and their own two fists when everyone else had guns. And of course, Archer himself. The three were all natural in a world of engines, machines, and unbending bureaucracy. Yet they were all too alien for Eli to relate to them. To call them “familiar”. In both presentation and customs, they were total opposites of the Earthbound Misfit and himself. His mind briefly wondered what their lives could’ve been like in comparison to his own. Tribal elves living in a war torn jungle, to a soldier in disgrace living on a Planet on the brink of devastation. Their worlds colliding together in a way nobody could’ve predicted had they been asked just a few weeks prior.
Juma flagged them down, pointing at the map to center their attention. When Otaes came near, she held up the palm of her hand, unleashing a ball of blue energy that surrounded them. Eli recognized it instantly as the translation spell, “Are you two ready?”
“Ready as we’ll ever be,” Otaes surprisingly did not answer. Instead, it was Temetet who spoke up. It seemed Otaes was hesitant about the situation, and she more or less dragged herself near while Temetet bounced forward with excitement. Thrill.
Juma smiled, “Alright then. Sergeant Bannon, they’re all yours,” She said, folding the map up to carry off before turning back to the team, “If you have anything to say, use your monitor to communicate. If you have an emergency, don’t radio Overwatch, don’t radio Kovic. You call me or my station. Got it?”
“Yes ma’am,” Bannon again answered.
“Good luck," She said, waving them off. But before Bannon could drag them away, she turned to Eli, "Remember, I’m rooting for you,” She said before packing her things and leaving Misfit alone with the regulars and the two elves.
Strangers, completely alien groups frozen. The regulars under Bannon, Misfit, and the Elves for a brief moment only stared at each other as if completely unsure what to do or say next. Otaes had glanced over at Eli's direction with a nod of acknowledgment, but before they could talk to each other, it was Bannon who gathered everyone's attention. He was of course, like all the other primary combat units, dressed in his combat gear. Covered from head to toe in his body armor that made him resemble a strange digitally camouflaged beetle-person more than anything else. At least in comparison to the blue-and-orange uniforms of the prisoners, and the tribal clothes of Otaes and Temetet, Bannon and his ilk of regulars were the strange looking ones.
"Just like Juma said, it's real simple. Convicts, you follow my orders like they're the word of God, you understand?" Bannon ordered to the nods of compliance from the prisoners, "And uh... elves. You're under my command too. I'm not authorized to do anything to you, but act out of line, and you elves are gonna regret it. Understand?" He told them, talking to the two as if they were some kind of wild creature that he had to be cautious around.
"My name is Otaes," She said, instantly pushing back against Bannon's attempt at aggression.
"Just stay out of our way, and take us to where we need to go," Bannon snapped, "You won't be riding on our helicopter. Get your own ride into the city. Preferably that bird lion thing. But stay close." He said gesturing to Archer not too far away.
Bannon signaled for his regulars to rally around with him, as he packed up his own gear and took off for the helicopter awaiting them, "Misfit, I'll give you five minutes to prepare. After that, we're leaving you behind. Put some hustle into it, will you?" And like that, Bannon and his gang of soldiers departed leaving the elves and Misfit alone once again.
“Wow," Otaes said, her blue eyes watching Bannon and his squad as they peeled off, "Now I see why you hate them so much."
“Yeah, they're assholes. Nothing new,” Eli said to her.
"I can't believe you guys are still alive! I thought after the first time, that was it! I mean, you guys were taken away at gunpoint!" Temetet exclaimed.
"They can't kill us that easy," Rafael chuckled, "Besides, you got us out of solitary. We owe you one after all."
Otaes shook her head, "No. You don't. You save my brother, I save you, we're even." Eli noticed how her eyes looked reserved, darting to the floor after every line. Was she scared?
And then there was Temetet. Strange to see him here, if Eli remembered correctly, he was supposed to have been back in Raritan, where Otaes believed it to be safer for him, “You’ve got Temetet tagging along with you?”
“It’s my proving. The council thought it fit that I’d graduate into Kitchi with a simple, but difficult mission,” He answered for himself, cutting off Otaes who looked as if she’d answer for him, “But, so long as I’ve got her with me, I’ll be fine.”
Otaes sighed, looking from her brother to Misfit, “Yeah something like that. Temetet, get Archer ready, it's going to be a long flight,” she said to him.
"Sure, and uh, Misfit right?" Temetet asked, "Good to see you guys again. For aliens, you guys are like... super cool!"
Otaes rolled her eyes as she watched the smaller elf waltz off, she looked to Eli when he was out of range, "He's been obsessed with you Earth-humans ever since you left. He just won't shut up about you guys."
“You sure about bringing him with us?” Eli whispered to her, while the rest of the squad was wrapped up in talking.
She shrugged, “I didn’t have a choice.”
“Isn’t it dangerous to bring him out here?”
“Isn’t it dangerous to bring Omar out here?”
“It’s not my call – “, he saw Otaes gesture in a way that read, ‘You just proved my point, idiot’.
“Touché. But I don’t get it. Why?”
“It’s a long story. The council is running low on manpower. With the war going on, there aren’t as many Kitchi as there were before. The chiefs decided – in all their wisdom," She threw up her hands mockingly, "to graduate Temetet and plenty others before their training was fully complete.”
“It’s that bad?”
“In the last war, the Avonians bombed us into rubble and smoke. And now the war’s back. It is about as bad as it can get,” She shook her head, sighing, “I think.”
Eli didn’t have anything more to say. He’d gotten his answers, as he looked back to Misfit and Temetet, “Don’t worry. I’ll keep him out of trouble. Hopefully, we can be done with this quickly.”
“Yeah, maybe then this war will just blow over.”
“Maybe.”
“You don’t believe that though, do you?”
Otaes seemed to chuckle at that. Slowly she looked over to Eli, her blue elven eyes from behind the mask locking with his human eyes, “We’re more alike than you realize, human," She said, turning around on her heels to link up with Temetet and Archer. For a moment, Eli paused. That was the second time she's said that. Maybe it was true? He couldn't tell for certain. When both of the elves climbed atop Archer's back, he took off into the air, gracefully...
Regulars made final last-minute checks and the engines of the osprey roared to life. The twin blades kicked dirt up in the air all around them until they rose into the air. The surrounding jungle once again became visible. The osprey tilted forward, moving across towards the urban center of Helena. A city under fire.
Small homes became clearer to spot as they flew over the suburban area. Some of which was left perfectly intact. Some of which had been destroyed by the war. His eyes watched the streets below, spotting the vehicles and soldiers of the Coalition as they did their jobs in war making. And suddenly, Eli was once again back on Earth. A world torn apart by warfare over the dwindling resources. His mind back to Seoul his last mission prior to being shipped off to a whole new world. He recalled the glimmering skyscrapers which stood like shards of glass in the Korean landscape. Fires burned on their upper floors while jets circled the skies. Artillery pounded the streets of a city with so much on the line – everything. A symbol of modernity left to the worst that mankind had to unleash. And then the nuclear bomb eroded everything. It killed any hope that there would be a better future there, forever even. His mind conjured the image of a mushroom cloud. Here it was again, torturing his mind. Those he left behind when he deserted.
He looked to Misfit. Should he tell them? Could he protect Misfit if he wasn’t being fully honest about his past? That he murdered an officer to abandon his own squad? The mushroom cloud over Seoul told him everything. They were dead. Maybe it would’ve been better if he had died with them. He wouldn’t have to live his life as a prisoner – hardly more than a slave – sent out to a new world as an expendable for the Coalitions goals.
They approached the more built up parts of the city, watching as gunfire burst in the streets. Only for something strange to catch his eye. It was a bird...
A dove.
He blinked to observe it. Only for a split moment. When his eyes opened again, the dove was gone. Instead, there was something else.
A glowing ball of light in the sky, dimmer than the sun but equally striking. Like a giant fireball shooting up in the air! Eli watched as it shot up, curved around… and trailed the osprey!
His eyes shot open when he realized what it was. His mind couldn’t conjure up an idea quick enough. But one of the regulars who manned the guns behind them shouted it out on the radio, “MISSILE! MISSILE! EVADE!”
The osprey swerved, knocking everyone off balance. Only being kept into their seats by the straps. Someone shouted in fear, though Eli couldn’t tell who. He felt his heart freeze in his chest – ice in his veins. The missile connected, and he closed his eyes. There was a sound that burst in his ears, surrounding him as did the darkness.
He fell into the dark abyss of unconsciousness.
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