The Attack on The Citadel

24th July 2355, 9 PM

We are almost there. Atmost another hour. It’s absolutely dark outside, the only lights are from our vehicles. I don’t remember the last time I saw stars twinkling in the sky. I wonder sometimes, whatever I am doing, is it really worth it? We, I mean me and the people who I work with, have indeed come a long way but at the cost of what? All I could see the whole day were dried up rivers and oceans, broken remains of buildings, fallen bridges which boasted of the engineering capabilities of humans. It’s ironic how humans themselves were responsible for the destruction of their proud creations. Fortunately we didn’t encounter any storm till now. Even a small one was powerful enough to topple us. We need to clear up the atmosphere soon if we want our civilization to progress.

I had expected the presence of some new species. Maybe because of the constant sub-zero temperatures nothing could thrive. There’s also a probability that there might be existence of organisms below the surface like the Scaloids(refer to Episode 16) but to ensure that we need to explore properly and now is not the time. The soldiers are chattering among themselves. The vehicles are slowing down. We have reached our mark, our camp which is surrounded by a bunch of worn down skyscrapers, keeping us hidden from the eyes of the enemies. The facility is about three hundred metres away from our location.

I hadn’t finished documenting the description of the facility. As far as Sergei had confessed, the levels of the facility above the ground were dedicated to researching brain control, AI, weaponry and other war machines. The levels below the ground served as living quarters for the clones involved in research work and other responsibilities.

10 PM

We have reached our destination. It’s an eerie feeling. Last time I was involved in something similar was more than two centuries ago. Still all of it seems to have happened just yesterday. I could feel my heartbeat increase thinking about it. The moon was hidden even on that night, the sky murky. Me and my team were to infiltrate a heavily guarded nuclear silo. Our actions were going to change the whole world and they did, not entirely to my calculations but the end result was almost the same. I was supposed to die that day but I didn’t. I had sincerely hoped for death as I am doing now but fate had more torture in store for me. Most unfortunate I’d say though I didn’t have a choice. I didn’t have any reason or wish to live but I couldn’t die. Let’s see if I get to die today. These people can take care of themselves after this facility is destroyed. No, I can’t die. I have Husky to take care of. I can die after he dies. Time to move out.

25th July 2355, 5AM

Still living, not without a few scratches though. Didn’t get those in a long time. The singeing feels nice somehow. Right now, I am waiting to regroup with the others near the entrance of the facility. Last night was long and bloody.

At about 10 o’clock last night, four stealth drones were sent to the citadel for reconnaissance. Our information checked out. It was best to take out the mortar teams first. That meant we had to go in as soon as the first mortar team was struck. Two of them were just behind the first entrance of the compound on either side. The assassins were divided into two groups and their job was to take out the sentry guns and the guards posted on the minarets starting with the ones at the entrance.

After taking out the first two guns, they were to move out in opposite directions along the outer wall and take the rest of the sentries out. Of course, disconnecting the sentries from the main command was not an option. No one inside the compound could be allowed to witness anything which could raise even a single eyebrow before the Phantoms struck the compound. So, the only way was to take out the guard first and then disable the firing and receptor mechanisms keeping everything else intact. However, a feedback loop needed to be placed which would relay the information that all the mechanisms were functioning normally. The assassins had a built-in hacking module in the abdominal region which could be connected to machines through an extensible wire.

Pressure sensors on the walls were a norm since much before the War, along with laser grids on the parapets. The laser grids were not a problem, the pressure sensors were. The Assassins were supposed to move along the outer walls towards successive minarets to avoid detection. Cloaking wasn’t going to be a problem. Each armed unit had its own cloaking drone which created a holographic image of the surroundings around the unit. It gave the least distortion possible and small black bodies on the drones rejected any form of thermal imaging. Climbing the minarets was the prime issue. Using jet pods would give away heat signatures. Airdrop was out of the question and even though the assassins moved on a cushion of air beneath their feet, the extra force of air during the climb could trigger the sensors.

The last trick in our books was to use electric turbines. The R&D department had introduced a feature in all the soldiers which facilitated the attachment of certain mechanisms externally. These apparatuses were to aid the soldiers in overcoming specific situations. The electric turbines could be fitted on the backs of our units as an add on. They were not very powerful and hence couldn’t exactly provide enough force to fly on command but they could provide enough power for the units to hover or slowly glide up. The air cushions on the feet and their hands would help maintain their position when they moved up along the walls. The fins built in their suits could help them glide on their way down.

As soon as the assassins were done with their job, the infantry units were to move in and deploy the explosives on the first entrance. The explosives would be timed to go off as soon as the first mortar team was taken out and we would go in.

Jonas and Nate decided to form two teams Jumbo and Mumbo, after the entry, each comprising of one machine gunner, three infantry units and two assassins. They would move again in opposite directions, taking out one platoon at a time. Stealth drones were to be kept hovering above the compound to keep an eye out for other enemy movement.

We moved out at 10:30PM. The broken down buildings loomed over us, silent, watching. Darkness spread out like an endless shroud above us, sudden gusts of wind trying to sway us from our path. The Assassins were leading the pack with me and Husky at the end. Phil had stayed back to monitor our movements and the drone video feed and relay relevant information back to us. I had enough time to upgrade mine and Husky’s suit before leaving the city. “Upgrade” isn’t the appropriate word here. The suit was converted into a small walking tank.

I had kept the inner lining since I was comfortable in it. I had attached a flexible blackbody mesh over it which absorbed any incoming or outgoing radiation. This modified suit could be worn separately or inside an armoured exoskeleton I had designed especially for these situations. The outer layer comprised of small plates made from Titanium Aluminium alloy. These plates were arranged like scales on a fish and could slide over one another allowing extensive maneuvers and certain other functions. The limbs were motorized with the joints augmented with hydraulic systems. These mechanisms amplified the wearer’s strength by a factor of ten under normal conditions and could be boosted by twenty five times for short durations. Though the boosters were needed to be recharged externally before they could be used again. The layer just below the exoskeleton consisted of a mesh of carbon nanotubes. These tubes could slide within each other to provide openings wherever required. The next layer comprised of all the weapons I had installed inside the armour. One reaper assault rifle and a smaller gun were fitted on both arms which could spring up and shoot when needed. Two sets of miniature missile systems with a payload consisting of aqua tabificus, that insanely strong acid we discovered, were installed on the shoulders. On one side of the back was housed a gattling cannon which used Piercer rounds and on the other side was a drone which could be used for reconnaissance. The mid back housed a powerful turbine which facilitated jumping to a height of thirty metres.

The head of the exoskeleton housed an onboard computer which controlled all the mechanisms of course with a manual override. It could also store a data of over ten petabytes and feed the information visually or through audio. The eyes of the armoured suit had targetting systems along with thermal imaging and a certain level of X-ray vision. Husky’s suit had similar upgrades but with only the gattling cannon as the firing weapon. Husky could operate the mechanised jaws built in his suit though the rest of the systems were AI controlled with the override in my command. I did what I could as preparation for battle but I had never faced such a conflict before. Fighting the Scaloids was different. They were primitive and lot less in number. Our current adversaries were humans and we weren’t sure about their numbers but we knew it would be more than hundred not to mention the mechanical units at their disposal. If we lost this battle, the enemy would attack the city and without proper leadership the city could fall. Failure was not an option.

To be continued…