06-15-2018, 05:11 PM
Annatown, 0535 hours
Yasin Zaunq watched from a high window as the Gonhogian troops approached the parliament. He turned away, back to Jae Chung who stood there, waiting.
"Take this," he said to her, handing her a USB stick, "and get out of here."
"I can't just abandon you! Or this city," she protested.
"We can't win this battle, and everyone here will die. But, and I cannot stress this enough, the contents of that USB could put an end to this war. Jae, I need you to do this for me. Get that to Sonja, she'll know what to do. We will buy you time."
"We are surrounded, on all sides. How exactly am I meant to get out of here?"
"You have lived in this city all your life, you will find a way."
"And now you expect me to abandon it?"
"Jae... in war, we all have to do things that we don't like. I trust you, more than any of the others. I need you, Lauchenoiria needs you," he turned back to the window to see the rapidly advancing troops, "now, go!"
She hesitated, then turned and ran out the door.
Yasin picked up his rifle, and headed downstairs.
"We will hold this building for as long as we can, is that understood?" he addressed the resistance fighters.
"Yes, sir," they chorused, slightly out of time with each other. Yasin looked over their faces, then turned away.
The battle was over much faster than Yasin had hoped. He and a few others were holed up inside what appeared to be a committee room, with the Gonhogians pressing against the door outside. As the door burst open, Yasin took aim, and blew the head off the first Gonhogian to enter. He fired until he was out of bullets. The last thing he saw was the face of the soldier that killed him.
--------------------------
Buttercity, 1030 hours
"Gonhog has taken Annatown from the rebels, but Skoden has control over Summersea," Charissa Clarke informed Chaher. He looked out of his window over Buttercity as he swore.
"We have an army base north of Summersea. Have our troops engage the Skodenians. What's the situation in Usera?"
"The rebel group has taken control of part of the city, we are still engaged in fighting."
"Get the Kerlians to back us up there. Tell Gonhog to secure Carville, keep the Skodenians isolated in the south-east. Have you heard from the men following Rowan Martin yet?"
"Not as of yet, he seems to be making his way towards Melissa City."
"Do we know where Sonja Alvarez is?"
"She has vanished completely, but some of her cell is in Usera."
"Find her. Have our troops secure Fleura and Melissa provinces, don't let any foreign soldiers set foot in either. Keep the Kerlians and Gonhogians to the south. They may be our allies, but don't tempt them. Keep them occupied down there, and secure the boundaries."
He stood up, as Clarke nodded and left. He walked over to the window. Buttercity was at peace, since the resistance cells operating there had vanished off to other places. He wondered how long it would last.
------------------------------
Usera, night
Leonie gasped as she woke up. There was a searing pain in her ribs and she couldn't stand. She cried out in the darkness, and a man she didn't know rushed over.
"It's all right, you're going to be okay."
"What... what happened?"
"You were shot, at the march."
Suddenly it all came rushing back to her, the soldiers and the fighting and the sharp pain as the bullet passed through her. She turned to the side and vomited. The man took a step back from her.
"Careful, I'll go get someone," he turned away, but Leonie stuck out an arm and grabbed him.
"Wait, where am I? Who are you? What, what happened after...?" she gestured to her wound.
"You are in the Useran Resistance headquarters. My name is Oliver. We are still fighting Chaher's troops. I know you've been working with Sonja's group, we're trying to contact her, but she's gone off the grid completely, even to us. Don't worry, we have several medical professionals on our side, you're going to be fine."
An explosion nearby rocked the building and Leonie let out a yell.
"Fine!? This place is a warzone, right? In what universe is it going to be fine?"
"Try to calm down, Leonie. I understand how scary this must be. As soon as it's safe to move you, we are going to get you out of the city. We have places you can recover, places Chaher can't find. I know it looks bad. You don't even know the half of it. But this will pass, we will be fine, I promise."
"Nobody can promise that, not in these times."
"All of history is littered with terrible times. It always passes, eventually. But I know how you feel. None of us saw this coming, not here. We see the bad stuff, but we always think it will pass us by." Oliver stared off into the distance at nothing.
Leonie was silent. She had a feeling Oliver's words had some deeper meaning, that he'd seen something, experienced something that she didn't particularly want to know.
"I need to go, you should rest," he said, standing up to go. Leonie nodded, suddenly aware of how exhausted she still was, and fell back asleep.
Yasin Zaunq watched from a high window as the Gonhogian troops approached the parliament. He turned away, back to Jae Chung who stood there, waiting.
"Take this," he said to her, handing her a USB stick, "and get out of here."
"I can't just abandon you! Or this city," she protested.
"We can't win this battle, and everyone here will die. But, and I cannot stress this enough, the contents of that USB could put an end to this war. Jae, I need you to do this for me. Get that to Sonja, she'll know what to do. We will buy you time."
"We are surrounded, on all sides. How exactly am I meant to get out of here?"
"You have lived in this city all your life, you will find a way."
"And now you expect me to abandon it?"
"Jae... in war, we all have to do things that we don't like. I trust you, more than any of the others. I need you, Lauchenoiria needs you," he turned back to the window to see the rapidly advancing troops, "now, go!"
She hesitated, then turned and ran out the door.
Yasin picked up his rifle, and headed downstairs.
"We will hold this building for as long as we can, is that understood?" he addressed the resistance fighters.
"Yes, sir," they chorused, slightly out of time with each other. Yasin looked over their faces, then turned away.
The battle was over much faster than Yasin had hoped. He and a few others were holed up inside what appeared to be a committee room, with the Gonhogians pressing against the door outside. As the door burst open, Yasin took aim, and blew the head off the first Gonhogian to enter. He fired until he was out of bullets. The last thing he saw was the face of the soldier that killed him.
--------------------------
Buttercity, 1030 hours
"Gonhog has taken Annatown from the rebels, but Skoden has control over Summersea," Charissa Clarke informed Chaher. He looked out of his window over Buttercity as he swore.
"We have an army base north of Summersea. Have our troops engage the Skodenians. What's the situation in Usera?"
"The rebel group has taken control of part of the city, we are still engaged in fighting."
"Get the Kerlians to back us up there. Tell Gonhog to secure Carville, keep the Skodenians isolated in the south-east. Have you heard from the men following Rowan Martin yet?"
"Not as of yet, he seems to be making his way towards Melissa City."
"Do we know where Sonja Alvarez is?"
"She has vanished completely, but some of her cell is in Usera."
"Find her. Have our troops secure Fleura and Melissa provinces, don't let any foreign soldiers set foot in either. Keep the Kerlians and Gonhogians to the south. They may be our allies, but don't tempt them. Keep them occupied down there, and secure the boundaries."
He stood up, as Clarke nodded and left. He walked over to the window. Buttercity was at peace, since the resistance cells operating there had vanished off to other places. He wondered how long it would last.
------------------------------
Usera, night
Leonie gasped as she woke up. There was a searing pain in her ribs and she couldn't stand. She cried out in the darkness, and a man she didn't know rushed over.
"It's all right, you're going to be okay."
"What... what happened?"
"You were shot, at the march."
Suddenly it all came rushing back to her, the soldiers and the fighting and the sharp pain as the bullet passed through her. She turned to the side and vomited. The man took a step back from her.
"Careful, I'll go get someone," he turned away, but Leonie stuck out an arm and grabbed him.
"Wait, where am I? Who are you? What, what happened after...?" she gestured to her wound.
"You are in the Useran Resistance headquarters. My name is Oliver. We are still fighting Chaher's troops. I know you've been working with Sonja's group, we're trying to contact her, but she's gone off the grid completely, even to us. Don't worry, we have several medical professionals on our side, you're going to be fine."
An explosion nearby rocked the building and Leonie let out a yell.
"Fine!? This place is a warzone, right? In what universe is it going to be fine?"
"Try to calm down, Leonie. I understand how scary this must be. As soon as it's safe to move you, we are going to get you out of the city. We have places you can recover, places Chaher can't find. I know it looks bad. You don't even know the half of it. But this will pass, we will be fine, I promise."
"Nobody can promise that, not in these times."
"All of history is littered with terrible times. It always passes, eventually. But I know how you feel. None of us saw this coming, not here. We see the bad stuff, but we always think it will pass us by." Oliver stared off into the distance at nothing.
Leonie was silent. She had a feeling Oliver's words had some deeper meaning, that he'd seen something, experienced something that she didn't particularly want to know.
"I need to go, you should rest," he said, standing up to go. Leonie nodded, suddenly aware of how exhausted she still was, and fell back asleep.
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