Planet: Eteran, First Insurgency Compound

First Insurgency War

RAYAN

He sat alone in the Insurgent bunker. He tossed a ball in the air, only to catch it on its way down.

Weeks passed and he heard nothing — not from Meryn, nor from Aelius. Seeto no longer invited him to meetings and kept him at arm's reach.

Gravity returned the ball to his palm after one bounce, and he glanced at the door when it opened to reveal Aaron.

"Thought you'd be in here," he said and headed for him. "I've got something you need to see."

"What is it? Information on the bioweapon?"

"Read and see for yourself." Aaron handed him the datapad. "I want your opinion."

Rayan flicked through the tabs of information. It detailed the quarantines and what they had in common. Eteran based. He switched to the next tab, hospitals connected to them with the number of infected patients and assumed routes of transmission. "I see Seeto does his homework."

Aaron shook his head. "We wouldn't have gotten most of the information without you."

"Sounds about right." Rayan put the ball to the side. "Why? Does Seeto need something else from me?"

Aaron sat beside him and pushed the datapad back into his hands when he tried to return it. "I just want your opinion."

He returned to the documents. Hm, I guess most of these hospitals connected to the quarantines are considered hospices. Ones not attached to quarantines don't have that many patients stricken with this virus... no, most of their patients are... He read through the information, then frowned. He rubbed his chin.

"Confused?" Aaron asked.

"Yeah," Rayan mumbled. "The spread of the bioweapon is going up by increments so... whatever the Strike Forces is doing with the quarantines it's starting to work."

"Barely working," Aaron corrected.

Rayan brought the attached map where red dots marked unconnected hospitals. Grey ones denoted quarantine hospices. Some of the red and grey intermingled, all except one.

"What's this?" Rayan pointed.

Aaron nodded. "It's a Sanctum hospital out on the border of Roxton," he explained. "They've been taking wounded from both sides."

"Any conflict?"

"None at all."

Rayan smiled. "Good to hear. Usually doctors wouldn't take that risk."

"All it takes is one." Odd words settled an eerie sense of deja vu within his boiling stomach when Aaron sighed with a shake of his head. "It was the hospital Seeto found that you couldn't. It's seclusion was on purpose, they have some sort of tech blocking the true coordinates."

His heart fell to join the writhing of his soul. "Are you saying—?"

"I am." Aaron gave him an expression of cold steel. "Seeto found Aelius Matthey."

"Is that why he isn't letting me in on meetings?" Rayan asked.

"It got boring without your energy," Aaron admitted. "I've tried talking him down but..." He rolled his wrist with a scoff. "Sometimes you reach the point of no return."

Rayan lost his grip on the datapad, and it fell into his lap. "He's not—" His breath caught in his chest. "I thought we agreed there were other ways. I was working on getting information!"

Aaron rubbed the back of his neck. "You're one voice among many, Rayan. Seeto told the rest of the Insurgents about the bioweapon. Most are screaming for blood, the rest are crying for this war to end."

Rayan leaped up and the datapad clattered against the ground. "We've got to stop him."

"Falae, you're not stupid. You know it won't be enough," Aaron pointed out and scooped his datapad back into his hands. "I don't agree with this anymore than you do. If time is no longer on our side we have little room to think this through."

"I have to warn Aelius," Rayan said and took the infopod from Aaron.

"You have to do it fast," Aaron agreed. "Seeto sent people to keep tabs on the hospital."

His blood chilled at a memory of the past weeks. "Aaron... that's not what he's doing."

"Hm?"

"I didn't tell anyone because it wasn't like he asked me this before," Rayan insisted. "A week ago he had me smuggle in chain charges and told me they found another possible tunnel route they were going to open. We should still have a few boxes unless..." Fear intensified in his throat. "Aaron, can you go check on the storage for me?"

"Yes, but—"

He didn't wait to answer every question. It's worse. We have no time at all. He sprinted out of the bunker and shoved past Insurgents on his way to the hangar, and ran full-tilt into Garcy.

"Whoa," Garcy said with a good-natured laugh. "What's the rush?"

"Garcy!" Rayan grasped his broad shoulders. "Check on our stores and send me the contents. I'll return at some point — I hope." He broke back into his sprint of escaping hope. I have to get to that hospital.

Tick. Tick. Tick.

Most of the Insurgent scouts flew off for routine patrols. Another Insurgent wiped down their ship, whistling a tune to themselves. He hopped into his ship, launching out of the bay without waiting for anything else.

Tick. Tick. Tick.

His dashboard echoed the clock.

I don't know how much time I have left. They can't have started. I might still have a chance... Meryn! I need to warn Meryn!

Rayan tapped his compearl while he raced for the marked area as fast as his scout would fly. Meryn answered in an instant. "Long time no talk, Ray," his friend joked.

"Meryn, I need you to monitor the Sanctum Transmissions." Rayan fought to catch his breath. "Tell me if you hear anything strange."

"I thought you had a TSC down there in your secret hideout of secret things."

"Meryn, I'm not kidding around."

"Cool your jets." Meryn released an exasperated sigh right into his ear. "Anything specific you want me to watch out for? More about the quarantines?"

"Large-scale attacks."

Fiery death silenced his old friend on the other end of the stars. "Rayan," Meryn said through his teeth. "What do you mean by large-scale attacks?"

Another chirp sounded in his ear. "Just do it, Meryn," he barked and answered his next call. "Aaron? Garcy?"

"Right!" Garcy's voice boomed. "Aaron and I are down here. Any specific stash you want tabs on? We've got a lot of food packets."

"Garcy, I don't care about food packets," he said. "I want you to look at our weaponry stores and send me a list with the details." He hung up and continued his desperate flight for change and freedom. His fingers drummed the wheel in impatient woe, and he quivered with each shake of the ship.

His compearl flashed a message on the dashboard from Aaron.

'Everything in order. Attachment sent. I don't think Seeto sent anything out yet.'

Rayan tightened his grip on the wheel when another message overwhelmed Aaron's.

'Ray, don't fucking hang up on me without explaining shit,' Meryn's message rang with irritation, and the next one rolled in. 'Answer me.'

He tapped his compearl into silence mode and ignored the frantic contact from Meryn. I have his attention. He'll keep a close eye on the TSC.

Coordinates pulsed through his drive and guided him closer to the destination, then switched over to auto-pilot to look over Aaron's attachment. Numbers accounted for, including the box he smuggled in for Seeto. His stomach churned and his head drummed against his skull.

It rocked and trembled the rest of his body while Ava shoved him to the ground and locked him in his own house to return to her family, to James. Rayan clutched his chest and took in several heavy breaths. Embers and smoke strangled his lungs, and he winced. He ran his finger down his list of contacts, and Mom's name came into view.

She'd know what to do...

He hesitated on the edge of the past.

I'm the enemy now. I have to do this myself — without her help. I have to do it fast.

Another contact slipped into view.

James.

His fingers trembled with the ringing blaster. He waved the contact menu out of his face and regained control of his ship. Out in the middle of nowhere, expansive forests shielded valleys and dales. Sharp cliffs stabbed through the planet's landscape. Quarantine towers in the distance tickled the clouds from their tips. Secluded enough to be out of radio interference and nearby enough for assistance. How did Seeto find this place?

Rayan landed in a clearing out of the hospital grounds. He leaped out and followed a road to the hospital, where the silence filled his ears. Through several yards of concrete, he rushed for the main entrance. No Elites tried to stop his approach, so he moved into the main entry hall.

Nurses sat behind the reception desk, while the waiting room wasn't as packed as he expected. A few Strike Force soldiers stood inside, standing guard.

In the end, useless.

He walked up to a receptionist. "I need to talk to Aelius Matthey."

"Do you have an appointment?" she asked wearily.

"I don't, but—"

"He's busy," she explained. "Tell me your name and I'll let him know you wish to speak with him."

"Ma'am." He fought his impatience and frustration while the clock on the wall ticked in his ears. "He's in danger."

One of the guards studied him, but he ignored them with the receptionist as she asked, "Young man, what's your name?"

"Rayan Falae."

In the presence of an Insurgent, the response was immediate. He raised his hands from his weapons when the people in the waiting seats jumped out of them as if he was a man on fire. Blasters primed and echoed throughout his ears, with James' sullen expression ripping through his heart. One of the soldiers advanced on him where energy coursed through their loader, with the receptionist getting out of her seat.

"I'm here to save him!" Rayan snapped. "I'm not here to hurt him. I'm here to warn him." He held out his hands. "I want to talk!"

"You'd think we'll trust one of the main Insurgents?" one soldier barked.

Rayan scoffed when they refused to lower their weapons. "Look." He kept a hand on his chest and faced the soldier, where the barrel of the rifle greeted him. "Shoot me if you want after, but I come with a warning."

"Dr. Matthey wishes to speak with him," the receptionist broke in, then indicated for Rayan to follow. He scowled when the nozzle of the blaster tapped him in the head, but he followed.

In the meeting room, Aelius Matthey stood from his chair, while two other residents peeked at him with cautious expressions.

"Never thought we'd get the drop-in from one of the Insurgency's head honchos," one joked.

Aelius raised his hand and the soldiers lowered their weapons from his head. "Rayan? What do you want to talk to me about?"

He sucked in a breath. "This hospital is being targeted."

Guns raised again, Rayan kept his gaze trained on Aelius.

"What do you mean?" Aelius asked.

"The First Insurgency got wind of where you are," Rayan explained. "We know, Aelius."

Aelius's eyes widened in slow terror, though the doctors tipped their heads at his proclamation, so he continued to beat the clock, "You have to evacuate people from this hospital. I can't stop them. The First Insurgency leader is no longer listening to a word I say. I'm just one voice. I can have people move patients—"

"Why should we trust you?" one resident asked, though Aelius bit on his lip. "We can't take his word for it, Matthey. We have the best defenses the Sanctum can provide."

"Let me talk!" Rayan snapped.

In silence, the soldiers hesitated, as if he turned into his mother before their very eyes.

A young woman stood from her seat. "Aelius, we should listen to what he has to say," she said. "I don't think he would've come here risking his life and revealing the First Insurgency's plans to the Sanctum if he wasn't serious about this threat."

Aelius considered her, then frowned at Rayan. "The First Insurgency is at the end of their rope. Why come with a warning now?"

Rayan dropped his hands to his sides. "Aelius, this war isn't over," he rasped, "but if you don't leave this hospital, it will be."

Words hung in the air on suffocating spiderwebs. Aelius frowned, then tucked his chin into his palm. "We have patients who can't be moved, and it's as Dr. Horzon mentioned. We have the best defenses the Sanctum can provide."

"But—"

They said the same thing about Eastpoint!

Everyone had their attention on him.

"I'll contact the Sanctum," Aelius replied. "I know they have a pair of Elites posted nearby to keep tabs on who goes in and who comes out of the nearest quarantine." He sighed. "I trust you, Rayan, but I cannot in good conscience trust you with my patients. Nor would they be comforted by an Insurgent for those who are Strike Force personnel."

"Aelius, you know it won't be enough," Rayan begged. "You have to trust me! I know better than you do as to how these people operate! I know it more than the Sanctum. You have to let me help."

His compearl chirped a haunted warning.

"Answer it," Aelius mumbled.

Rayan winced when the guns primed, and he raised a shaky finger to his compearl. "Hello?"

"Falae, so—" Garcy spoke.

"Before you ramble," Aaron cut in. "We had a thought."

"We thought, hey, maybe we should check the boxes themselves and the previous logs," Garcy finished.

"Okay, and?"

"You mentioned you smuggled in supplies? I noticed something."

Aaron cut in once more, "We noticed the supplies you brought in had a fair amount in stock. On a hunch, I compared the logs before and after you brought it in."

"Well?" Rayan fought to keep himself calm but the universe twisted his vision.

"You replaced the stock as they took it out," Garcy explained. "I thought it was bizarre, considering..."

"—considering what Seeto planned originally," Aaron finished. "I'm all but certain they replaced the stores they had taken out."

"Meaning?" Rayan choked.

"He took the supplies out, Ray," Garcy said. "They're gone, there's no trace of them."

Flames and sirens rang in his ears and burned his skin into bubbles. "Is that it?"

"Seeto himself replaced the stores. Did you confirm the smuggled product yourself?"

Shit.

"And I'll take your silence as a no."

Aaron whispered, "I think your time is up, Rayan, whatever you're doing, do it and get out of there."

It fizzled into nothing, and Aelius tipped his head at the silence of his friend's voices. "Lengthy conversation."

Rayan came closer to Aelius. "Please," he begged and bit down on his tears while he pleaded for her to stay. He ran from Eastpoint and dodged the smoke and fireballs, but no matter how many times it threw him to his knees, the embers fell across his shoulders. "You have to leave this place."

He lost his grip on Ava, and she ran back into the flames.

Aelius, out of reach.

"Kara," Aelius said and nodded at the woman. "Get in contact with the Sanctum. Tell them our position is compromised and we need help. Request General Falae." His heart lodged into his throat at Mom's name, but Aelius stared at him. "I need you to stay here and tell her everything you've told me."

"I—" I can never escape. "Aelius, no, I—"

James' fingertips drifted in his when he reached out into the flames, and he turned around with her smile.

"You're staying here," Aelius said. "In the examination room by my office."

Why did I expect anything else?

The door slammed shut at his fingers and the ticking stopped in a single moment.

I'm nothing but the enemy... and you didn't stay.