Short Story: Insidious Empire

“To fight the empire is to be infected by its derangement… whoever defeats part of the empire becomes the empire, it proliferates like a virus… thereby it becomes its enemies.”

            Wind rustled the trees and brush as the sun began to set over the valley. Not much moved along the basin floor but there was a reason for this; a fortified camp complete with electric fences, watch towers and guards was perched midway up the hill on the eastern side. The camp’s all-seeing floodlight forced its omnipotent gaze down on the terrain below while the sun retreated for its nightly rest. Nothing could reach the camp with such a continuous watch.

            The camp was fittingly named Helios. Beyond its title, no real information existed regarding its inner workings. Many would have greater luck finding salt in a snowstorm than discovering the hidden secrets of Helios but this did not stop those from sifting through the powder. As the last rays of sunlight withdrew, a faint glimmer of metal could be seen moving over the opposing western slopes. Tonight Helios’ defenses would be put to the test.

            A small group of trained civilians dressed in cyber grape and black camouflage ascended the steep hill down into the valley below disappearing into the dark cover of the trees. This group was led by an ex lieutenant known as Raz Delfin. Mithra, the reigning political regime, had once lauded Raz for his strategic brilliance but his inquisitiveness had created unease. So much unease, in fact, that Raz was exiled from Mithran land and stranded in the wilderness. Evidently, they had not extinguished the rogue light in the darkness.

            Today marked the third year of Raz’ exile. Every moment of this time had been used to plot a most violent return. The party Raz lead into the valley was small but its collective desire to cripple the Mithran Empire provided the sharpened edge necessary to drain Helios of its clotted secrets. Aside from the quiet clank of advanced weaponry in tow, the party slithered silently towards the Helios nest like a snake in search of fresh eggs.

            As they reached the forested edge, all stopped to survey the exposed expanse of space between Helios’ front gate and their position. Dancing before them in deadly sweeps along the ground was the light from the main watch tower. Objective one involved extinguishing this light.

            Back on top of the western hill remained their solution. An aged but powerful Tarasque anti-aircraft gun sat calculating its imminent shot. On Raz’ count, the turret fired and a swift swoosh flew over their heads and into the base of the floodlight tower. In seeming slow motion, the tower buckled and groaned as its concrete and metal base was obliterated. Lucky for the party, the tower fell towards their position smashing the front gate in its fall. The group took no time in charging the crippled base.

            Approaching the gates they were met with volleys of gunfire but to their advantage, the darkness of the night and their uniforms made it near impossible for the Mirthan guards to hit their marks. Raz’ rebellion fared much better and within no time they had breached the gates.

            Inside the compound there was not much above ground. A few short buildings with large metallic bay doors sat inconspicuously. It had been said that Helios was largely an underground compound reaching deep into the sloping hill on which it sat and so it was down into the unknown the party was set to go.

            Lieutenant Delfin had in his squad a handful of programmers and with their help they hacked the security mainframe gaining access into one of the buildings. All disappeared into the bay doors leaving the sound of crackling flame and sparking electrical wiring to add to the night’s quiet soundtrack.

            Slowly, the large elevator took the rebellious party down deep into the Earth. Once they reached the lowest level, the doors opened with their hydraulic hiss and out into the dark room they cautiously proceeded, guns at the ready.

            Banks of fluorescent lighting slowly came to life in a domino effect proceeding across the large room in a controlled fashion. To their horror, the lights illuminated a scene of death. Bodies lay strewn across the machined metal floors and splatters of blood speckled the walls and floor. No signs of life could be found here. The only animation in that grim place was a flashing monitor on the opposite end of the room to the left of yet another large bay door.

            Carefully, they approached the monitor to see the video. A gun or blunt object had struck the face of the monitor, or so it appeared, for in the center the pixels were dead and the glass had cracked in a star-like pattern. Though difficult, Raz and his team could still make out the figure of a woman and hear the faint but distorted voice from the speaker.

            “Help, we have…trapped. Please…… open…set us free…grateful… Mithra has activated a deadly… we are the only… that can stop… Please!” says the woman in a white overcoat on the display.

            “Should we open the doors, Raz?” asks one of his team.

            “We must figure out what evils the Mithran scum have come up with. Open the doors.” Commands Raz.

            Connecting their advanced computers to the terminal, the programmers set to work to unlock the heavy doors. After a few minutes there seems to be a problem.

            “The code requires activation by voice, Lieutenant.”

            “Then we must find another way to access this chamber” says Raz.

            “But sir, it appears you still have access.”

            “Truly?” Raz asks.

            “Yes, sir. Give it a go.”

            “Computer, permit access to bay 348” Raz reluctantly commands.

            “Access granted” chimes the system’s automated voice.

            The doors to bay 348 open slowly to reveal a mass of robotic figures all lined uniformly across the hanger with their red displays glowing menacingly back at them. Above the troops a large monitor flicks to life. Tritan, Mithra’s leading official, appears beaming down on them with a slight smirk.

            “Raz, what a pleasure to see that you are still alive. No one believed me when I said you would be back to help us initiate our new protocol.”

            “Initiate protocol? How do you mean?” ask a confused Raz.

            “Initiate our artificially intelligent army, of course. A flaw in our programming denied us access to this hanger and we only needed you to command it to open in order to initiate the final process and you have done quite splendidly. You might have been one of our brightest but you have become predictable. A pity for you and a blessing for my empire.” Tritan explains.

            “But this can’t be…” Raz says.

            “But it is. No need to whine. You have done your empire well and for that we thank you. Don’t worry, I will save you the anguish of watching the fruits of your labor. You shall die like the rest of the rebellious souls in the world. You shall be at rest soon. At ease, Lieutenant.” Tritan commands as the monitor turns to black.

            Within moments, the robotic army opens fire at Raz and his team quickly destroying the supposed rebels of the empire. Slowly, the troops march over the dead bodies and towards the elevator to join the world above. Mirthran order was now guaranteed.