The Mission

By John Page

​The roar of the helicopter was the only thing that could be heard. It was like a hurricane passing overhead. I stay huddled in the dark, cold, damp tunnel with the others. The sound seems to be the only thing in the world. I wonder how long it will last. Just when the sound becomes unbearable it ends. It suddenly becomes deathly quiet.

The six of us scarcely dare to breath. I count to ten then signal for my team to resume our movement. First out is the team’s Sniper, Hans. He moves like a rat and creeps to the edge of the tunnel. He looks out and whispers in a nasally voice, “All clear”.

The rest of the men let out a sigh of relief. Still a sense of dread hangs over us. Feeling worried, I look at them carefully. The mission has been stressful but I fear the stress is getting to them. It is unsettling. We are veterans so we should be used to danger yet four months of guerrilla warfare is hard on the body and mind.

Their fear of being caught is clear from the way they are standing. The Insec Imperium has been massacring any Animkin they can find. Tens of thousands have already been killed. We try to save as many of our country men as we can but we never seem to stop the slaughter.

Gron senses the group’s mood, takes off his mask, turns to me and says, “What’s next boss?” I point to a ruined building, “We go there. From there, we move on to higher ground where we can see the meeting.” Gron interrupts me, his red eyes blazing with excitement, “They will never suspect the Union to be here after what has happened. The Imperials think that they can waltz in here and have their crown prince take look around at our city. They will regret that.”

Brutus nods his head in agreement, reaches for his combat knife and growls menacingly, “Yea, we will get them back; they think they can stop us. I’ll take them all on!” His massive bulk seems to increase with rage. He paws the ground like an animal. His horned head gleams in the light. The burning rage of Brutus is evident. I feel sorrow for any legionary who meets him. The others seem emboldened by Gron and Brutus. The fear has fled from them.

​I am glad that five days in the ruins of Metropolis has not completely shaken them. The cities’ ruined state is a grim reminder of the war. Despite the boasting of Gron and Brutus, the previous battle here was a disaster for the Yuzon Union. The Inson Empire had caught our army as it raced to defend the outskirts of the city. They were slaughtered to the man and the city with them. My team was lucky; we were on scouting mission in the neighboring Zon highland.

We were now the only ones of our kind left. I look out at the gigantic city. It is not pleasant; half of it is flattened, melted or caved in, none of the street lights work. The towering monuments that awed the world fared no better than people’s homes. The sky is a sickly purple from the smoke and the husks of vehicles are everywhere. It is now a tomb. We were here to get some payback. The crown prince was the main general of the Inson Imperial army. With him dead, we could give our army time to regroup and take back the city.

​The six of us gather our gear and run to the next spot. We move in silence. Every step is careful. The Empire would be shocked to know that AmiKin could be this quiet. This is what we are counting on in order to succeed. I stop and glance at the street. No one else is around.

The helicopter must have been on a long range patrol as it is far off in the distance. The moon hangs low in the sky. Its light makes the ruins as bright as day. Curse the light! If we are caught, then we are doomed. There is no possibility of rescue

We move into the building swiftly. We look around silently hoping that we are secure. Suddenly, there is a noise. I turn in the direction of the sound. I look through a smashed wall. A shape is standing in a far-off doorway. A Insoc legionary!

It is wearing bright sliver armor and holding a gun in its lower set of arms. It seems unaware of us. I look at Brutus. He nods his head and moves like the wind. He vanishes from sight. The others hide themselves and wait. After a while, we see a horned shape fall onto the Legionary. The Legionary crumples to the ground swiftly.

We dash over to the body. Brutus killed him in an effective, if brutal, manner: a cut clean through the head with his knife and gut smash with his hooves.

While Brutus removes the knife, I check the body for any useful information. I find only its gun; it is a plasma rifle, a badge of rank and a canteen. Drat, this thing was only a drone. I was hoping for at least a legionary of overseer rank.

There are no maps, communication devices or anything we can use on it. We need to move the body. It can only hurt our cause if it is discovered. Ur finds a small apartment we can use. We throw the drone into a small closet. It will not be missed. There are always more drones. I get up and the others move with me. We need to get to high ground. I see a tower in the moonlight.

​We move toward it swiftly. We encounter no opposing forces. We break into the tower through a sealed window. We emerge into a long hallway. I stand there a moment and think about what the city was like before the war. This was a fine city. The city was the biggest and cleanest in the entire Union.

It was the city of the future, a promise of a new glorious future for our nation. I look out of a window. What I see is a wasteland. The plain of bones in the forsaken land seem more alive. We climb to the top of the tower and waited.

​The sun rose slowly. The prince’s guard encampment was right across the plaza. The size of it was staggering. It filled a fifth of the city. There was an airfield, tank depot, an endless number of infantry tents and a barracks for their robotic elite-the grey guard. Trying to be as subtle as possible, we moved into position. Hans raised his rifle and seemed to become a statue. The hours seemed to crawl pass us. We start to fall asleep.

We are awoken by the sound of trumpets. The prince had arrived. I gaze into the scope. I look for the prince. There are so many officers down there, which one is him? It seems hopeless. They are look the same.

“Wait, I see him, there the one in the cape standing near the red tank.” Gron says. Hans moves his scope ever so carefully. He waits until the right moment and then pulls the trigger. The muffled sound of the gun can be heard. As I look across the plaza, I see the prince’s head snap back. His energy shield was useless against the fast moving slug.

The prince falls like a tree. The gathered dignitaries are frozen in shock. As we start to make our getaway, one of the tanks turns to our hiding place and lets off a shot. We dash out of the room as it collapses from the heat of the blast. Suddenly I hear a sound like a whistle. I feel a burst of pain at my side. My vision turns black. As I fall to the ground, I hear Grok shout, “They hit us with an air strike, Felix and Ur are gone. They. Are. Gone”

I think to myself we are doomed.

I hear the sounds of an entire legion after us. They roar in anger and shame at the loss of their leader. How could they have responded so soon? They should have been disorganized for at least an hour. That was a weakness of the Insoc, they needed leaders. I start to fall to the floor in despair. My family is dead and so will my team.

Brutus comes over and bellows over the din “We got to get out of here, I know how to get to the cities’ catacombs, and we will be safe there.” I shake my head and my vision clears. I feel shame at my weakness. Brutus heads for the stairs. I rise painfully. We follow him, straining to keep up with his furious pace. After a few seconds of running, Brutus goes to the right all of a sudden. He disappears behind a door and then we hear him stop.

​We catch up and see him forcing a decrepit iron door open. I head over to help him. I look through a crack in the door; it opens to an endless abyss. The door opens with a horrible screeching sound. Brutus grasps a rope and starts to descend. We go with him. As we descend, the sounds of the Guard’s weapons and shouts grow dim. Safety is still possible if we are careful. The mission had succeeded no matter what happens next to us.