Porter was in shock. Everything had happened so quickly that the time seemed to slip by without him noticing. Here he was, amidst over a hundred men and women, all of them shouting or running or scrambling with computers, and he was only just realizing the gravity of the situation.
They were finally making their mark. Chandana had returned to the Red Scarf Gang, reorganized them into a fighting force, took command and informed them of their new goals, of the new information they had acquired. For many, there was a surprise at the betrayal by their own government. For others, their hatred was already strong towards the establishment, and so they accepted the news as though it was to be expected. Ling Shi had returned to the Jade Fang to help rally them, but he said he would return to the Enian Federation as quickly as possible. Both Porter and Chandana knew exactly why he would be coming, and that it had nothing to do with an uprising.
There was a constant flurry of activity around Porter. He could barely keep up with all of the action, so used to living on the island in seclusion, and then an organized academy before that. This was chaos, though there were clear patterns in it. People seemed to know their roles, more or less, and were performing the correct actions. There was just pandemonium in how they did it.
Porter's relocation had been tough though. He hadn't lived on Earth, among people, for quite some time. It had been a life in the academy for the last few years, and an orphanage before that. It was strange to now be in a city, to be in Narrius among people. There was an energy to it he couldn't describe, and it had left him breathless, caused this lapse in his memory as time passed by. And it never stopped.
"Are you prepared?" Chandana laid a hand on Porter's shoulder, drawing him out of his haze. He nodded as an answer, his heartbeat rocketing upwards in his chest as everything became real.
The discussion had always been for the group to deliver a message, for a global call to action to be launched. Sigma's hacking could take them so far, could get them access to large public channels in the other countries, and throughout the Enian Federation. It would be empty, hollow without actions to reinforce it. But if the team of Goliaths made any moves, assaulted any government buildings, interrupted fights, fought the Bahari as rebels, it would also be meaningless without a message. They would just be random acts of terror, nothing but misguided efforts at disrupting peace. If it came with a clear method, if it was calculated and reinforcing a declaration, people would notice.
And so two weeks of planning had gone by. Chandana had bonded with Irina quite quickly, subduing the woman whilst feeding her information. It was necessary, as they all feared Irina would grow impatient, but the general seemed significantly calmer, much of her anger burned out in the tiny cell in the north. While she still held fury in her eyes, she wanted to properly direct, to make sure her revenge had some greater impact than her throwing herself against a wall in vain until she died. Ling Shi had largely been in charge of calculating the proper message, his group known more for their large-scale broadcasts and attacks, while Chandana was occupied with Irina.
The Red Scarf Gang, it turned out, was more adept at subterfuge, at disruption of processes and at production of misinformation. They were the perfect pairing with the Jade Fang, and Porter was surprised each group had specialized in such complementary ways, yet never engaged with the others. But putting the two together had been quite helpful; the Jade Fang could compose a message, and the Red Scarf Gang could manufacture a means of delivering it. They were quite certain they could personally hijack the airwaves of the Enian Federation, but had to bow to Sigma's incredible mind when it came to more global operations.
Porter suspected even Sigma had limitations though, and this was approaching them. He had watched his brother pull Allyson aside, discussing things with her and giving her instructions. It seemed quite likely that it would take both the cyborgs to hack all networks around the world at once. Whatever it took then, it would be worth it.
"Yes, I'm ready," Porter replied, trying his best to quell the butterflies in his stomach and the twitching of his fingers. When they had finally written the message, decided upon the broadcast, and they had swung around to look to Porter for the delivery, he had almost broken down in nerves. He had always imagined this was something the rebel groups would want to take part in, or that Sigma could be used for as a symbol. For him to be not just the voice, but the face of this movement, wasn't something he was prepared for.
It had been throughout these two weeks that Porter had diligently practiced giving speeches, speaking to groups, and combatting his anxieties. First, he had delivered sermons from the book of Enia, just to his friends from the school. Then he had moved to increasingly larger groups from the Red Scarf Gang. Eventually, he was addressing them all, and was no longer reading passages, but was reciting lines from his upcoming broadcast message. He was stronger now, mentally, but there was a big gap between a couple hundred eager rebels, and the global population.
The worst aspect was that it was live. Had to be, both Chandana and Ling had said. You couldn't record messages like that because people wouldn't respect them. Somebody would find out it was just an old video and it would devalue the work they had done. The feat of hijacking was always more impressive if you were gambling by saying your message live, confident in your hacking abilities, fearless of repercussions.So Porter had to swallow the lump in his throat and head into a tiny room with a camera and a microphone.
He was watching for a light now, for the red to shine and indicate he was live to the world. It would be tricky though, as Chandana placed a blindfold over his eyes. Through the fabric, he would be able to make out the glow of the red, and they tested it a couple times to make sure. It came through blurry, distorted, but it was enough. They needed the blindfold, as had been explained to him, to help protect his identity slightly. While he was the face of the rebellion, there was never a true reveal when it came to messages of enlightenment. Those in the military who were aware of Porter defecting, or who knew of the rogue pilots, would understand what was going on and who he was, but they probably wouldn't be affected anyways. It was the people, the commoners, the lowest ranking soldiers, the ones who had no idea what was going on, who would listen. And if his identity was kept secret, he would be able to walk among them still.
Porter sucked in a breath as he was left alone in the room, holding it in for a while out of fear that the stress would come bubbling up out of his stomach. He finally released, feeling the air flow between his lips and his shoulders sank a little. And the red light went on.
And so Porter began to speak, to tell the tale of what had happened, of what he had learned, piece by piece, to billions of people...
*****
Brigadier General Marian was an old man. Not old in the sense that he could be considered frail and elderly, nor was he wizened through his years. He just felt old. He had been on this planet long enough that he certainly wasn't young anymore, and it troubled him. Of late, the stress he had been dealing with had been enormous, certainly too much for a more nimble mind of a youth, let alone a grizzled veteran like himself.
Jahari attacks could happen at any moment. The strategy the monsters were employing was a devious one, quite cunning considering their appearance. It would be much simpler and easier for him to simply rally all of his forces and stop an invasion than it was to spread himself thin and wait. They were constantly drawing up plans to go down into the catacombs, to search deep through the earth for the underground networks where the Jahari lived, but they had no way of sending down enough troops at once. They would be too easily funnelled and killed. Advantage Jahari.
And so everyday he fretted over what to do next. He had to analyze patterns, confer with experts who had popped out of nowhere to give advice on the history of the Jahari, communication patterns, tunnel secrets, anything and everything, as if this had always been common knowledge people were studying. It was nothing more than a legend come to life, and Marian wished it had stayed just that.
The frequently shifting battlefronts were more than enough for the man to handle, which was why the latest news, the messages that had people scrambling, and the meeting being called because of it, was grinding away the last of Marian's resolve. He barely had had the will to get into the elevator and ride up to the Kaiser's room, and it had taken much urging from his second-in-command to get him out of the war room he had been practically living in over the past few months.
The elevator gracefully slid to a halt, stabilizing at the proper level and sliding open with a pneumatic hiss. Marian tugged at the skin on his chin with his index finger and thumb, rubbing through barely shaven stubble. The elasticity in his skin was wearing out, and it felt thicker every day. It felt like he was ageing in years every night, if he even slept at all. This just wasn't something he wanted to add to his plate.
Kaiser Namio was gazing out the window at the far end of the room when Marian entered, but the Kaiser didn't turn to address the visitor. The boardroom was otherwise empty, save for the table and chairs, with nobody else attending. It was a rarity for Marian to be in the presence of just Namio. Usually Oberwald was somewhere, or Basheet, but it seemed this was intended to be a private gathering. That was fine by Marian, since he didn't much like dealing with political heads. Namio knew a thing or two about the army, respected Marian decisions and wishes, and didn't ask questions about every little detail. That was the kind of man Marian wanted to deal with.
"This isn't just a simple message, is it?" Namio's words bounced off of the glass, the man never once looking away from the city in front of him. There wasn't a building anywhere taller than the Kaiser's palace, so that he could survey his people and see all their smiling faces at once. At least, that was the original purpose of building the thing.
Marian was a bit shocked by the sentiment. He had known, based on the timing, that Namio wanted to discuss the broadcast put out earlier in the day, but for it to be so pressing on his mind was somewhat unusual. There had been an expectation of talking about the Jahari, of battle plans, resource allocation, and probably a mention that some local forces should be on alert to squash any uprisings, but this was completely different. "No, sir." Marian responded as best he could, with the most straightforward answer he could think of. Of course, he knew that this wasn't simple. With Shotuku behind much of it, with Goulet and Sigmeund having some sort of hand to play, with the top students of the academy leaving, with the android in their hands, this was far more than a simple message, that was for damn sure.
Namio's shoulder rose and fell as he went through a deep breath, his purple uniform fitting perfectly to his body, matching his movements. "The concept of a global revolt is not something new to us."
"But they never had the backing of Goliaths like that." Marian finished the thought without hesitation. He knew Namio wanted to hear this sort of frank discussion. If he wanted someone to beat around the bush and murmur sweet nothings, Oberwald and Basheet would've been here. But this was Marian, and Marian was going to say what he thought. "They've never had numbers like this before. A former general, a freed leader, first successful breakout from the prison, a Circuit Breaker, six Goliaths or more, a cyborg, and the old man. Just the students alone would be a headache."
Namio's hand shot up, quieting Marian. Regardless of the young man's age, he held tremendous power over the Brigadier General at all times. But Marian willingly fell silent, as soon as he saw the motion. He knew that he was treading on a sensitive subject, trampling it really. The Kaiser, and Marian, were well aware of exactly who was behind that message, of the group of students who had left, and who among them was directly related to Namio himself. It was more surprising, really, that Namio's younger sister hadn't been marched out to demonstrate the validity of the terrorist group's words, but Marian wasn't about to try and figure out Shotuku's actions, not while he was still trying to understand the threat of the Jahari.
"They won't interrupt any fight against a Jahari invasion will they?" Namio's voice had a hint of concern in it, regardless of the imposing demeanour he always displayed. Marian smiled behind the young man's back. Compared to the general, Namio was practically a kid, and he still was governed by emotions, as hard as he tried to bury them.
"We wouldn't let them if they tried."
"Because I wouldn't want my people to suffer even more over this." Namio pressed a hand against the window, softly, and his eyes scanned over the horizon once more. Marian understood though; while the rebels had a great hatred of the government and war, so too did Namio, and his actions had always been to put an end to all war the only way he knew how: conquer all enemies. Sigma had been misused though, and the deal with the Jahari had been a massive error, one clearly directed by Christian with malicious intentions. All of it had originally seemed so sterling. While Marian had been opposed to advanced weapons or dealings with creatures that should not have even existed, he had stood by the Kaiser during the original proposition.
"I do not think, and you know this too, that Porter, or Shotuku, would risk killing more innocents to try and deliver a message. I still expect they will show up to fight against the Jahari, though not because they belong to any group. Perhaps they will try to prove that it is the people, the world, that needs to battle the Jahari, not tentative alliances between nations. Or, perhaps, they are simply angry, and will do anything to satisfy their demand for a pound of flesh." Marian turned to leave, knowing the conversation was over and the command he would be given.
"Do not fight them then, if it would interrupt our own defences. As soon as they cross into that realm we..." Namio paused, pulling his hand away from the window to curl it into a fist at his side. "We will crush them. I will not let them stop us from doing our duty to the people. And make sure the people feel protected."
"Of course sir." Marian was already in the doorway, ready to go. He waited though, anticipating a final order from the Kaiser.
"And Marian..."
"Yes sir?"
"If you see her...if you get a chance...please bring her to me. Willingly! Or at least talk to her for me. Tell her something."
"As you wish." With that Marian was gone, rubbing his tired eyes as he prepared to return to his precious war room, so that he could try to win this bloody war.
* * * * *
"You heard it, didn't you uncle?"
"Yes, Rex, for the last time, I heard it."
"All those things they said, can you imagine them being true? Wouldn't that just be something, right uncle? I mean, conspiracies and secret robots and underground monsters, that's just craziness."
"But you got a look at the boy, didn't you?
The youth hesitated, understanding the gravity in his uncle's voice. "Yes, I saw him."
"And?"
"He has it, lots of it. It was all glowing and everything, much different than a normal person, just like you said. They're out there, like you promised."
"So you know what you have to do then?"
"Yes uncle." An array of lights ignited behind the pair, stretching up through the body of the massive battlesuit as it began its boot-up sequences and its engines roared to life.
A/N: Porter has made his presence known to the world and potentially set in motion a chain reaction from people around the world. But whose attention is he drawing now, and will it be allies...or enemies?