Results tagged “camp” from City Eternal

I flew through the hallways of headquarters, finally reaching the camp side. I burst through the entrance to the stairs, and climbed as fast as I could. What floor was he on? I couldn't remember. I checked every floor starting at 100. Finally, breathlessly, I burst through the door where the culture festival had occurred. The area had changed rapidly since then; most of the decorations and booths were now gone. But the one building that mattered most still sat there. I ran up to the entrance, when I noticed it was dark inside. There was a note pinned to the frame of the entrance. I looked at it, and saw it was addressed to us, everyone who had visited that day. It read as follows:

I regret that I must leave, but I have overstayed my welcome. I hope that our talk was fruitful, and that you all find what you are looking for. If you are reading this it means you must have realized that everything I said was the truth. My intent was not to deceive. Hopefully my motivations might become clear at a later time, but for now all I can do is wish you all luck. I wish that we might meet again, but I hope that we do not.

I will leave you with one last piece of advice: do not trust your past experiences. The basis by which we live our lives now is a farce. I hope the truth will become evident in your travels. I am sorry I cannot explain further, but I pray you will understand soon enough.

Fisher

P.S.: Please keep watch over Anna.

What the hell was that supposed to mean? I ripped the note from the frame and stuffed it in my pocket. Michael needed to see this.

I sat on a bench outside the restaurant, and gave my poor legs a chance to recover. After a few minutes, I fell asleep. I was rudely awakened hours later by a phone call. It was Michael.

"Yukari, we're almost finished down here, you need to start packing. We leave in four hours."

"I found a note at Mr. Fisher's place. You need to hear what he said."

"Bring the note with you when you come down. I'll read it then."

"Okay, I will. Can't believe we're leaving so soon."

"I know, seems like we were just finally settling back into routine around here. Welcome to the RDF," he chuckled.

"See you soon," I said.

"Make it quick," he replied, hanging up.

Four hours later, I was in the docking area, baggage in hand. I saw Anna and Sienna sitting against the wall at the back of the dock. I walked over to meet them.

"Hey Yuki!" Anna greeted me, jumping up and hugging.

"Ready for your trip?" I asked.

"Yep! Mikey and Jon are getting the boat."

"Gotcha. Where's Tobias? Is he not coming?"

"No, he's going to be our contact while we're traveling, keeping track of our route and keeping a close eye on us," Sienna answered.

I pulled Anna off of me, and we sat down next to Sienna. We talked about Anna's schoolwork, Sienna's job, and the task ahead. For once I felt excited, instead of scared. We were going to travel to someplace new, somewhere no one around has gone. It was hard not to be excited.

An alert played over the PA system, announcing the docking of a ship. We looked to the docking bay door, and saw a large ship approaching.

"That's it! That's our ship!" Anna called out.

"What? That big thing? No way," I said exasperated.

"Yes it is! I can feel Mikey and Jon!"

"A little overkill, isn't it?" I asked.

"Jon practically begged the general to allow us to use it. That's all I know," Sienna replied.

"Great," I rolled my eyes.

The ship sailed in, narrowly avoiding the top of the giant gateway. It was a mammoth in comparison to the other small boats in the docking area. It featured a single TURING cannon on the rear of the ship, but also had the distinctive extended railings of all the City Eternal military ships. No doubt they were mad about missing this one. Also near the back was the second navigation pod. Besides that, the only other thing that came off the deck was the large room in the center, which I assumed led under the deck. The whole ship was a dark metallic color, but this room actually had windows. Windows were a rare sight, most ships didn't have any at all, for added protection. I immediately recognized that this ship was indeed special, even among other ships of its size.

As the landing gear took the weight of the ship, the docking bay grew quiet. I hadn't realized, but the ship's lift system was actually audible. A testament to its size and weight, for sure. A steep stairway extended from the side to the ground, and Jon peaked his head out from inside.

"Well, you guys going to just sit there or are you going to check it out?" he called.

Anna took off like a bolt. Sienna and I followed her, actually interested in this new toy of theirs. It had a majestic feel to it, something truly epic. We climbed up the steep stairs into the cabin. Inside it was far more spacious than I imagined. Pipes and machinery ran along the ceiling and various walls, but much of the cabin itself was open. The stairs led up directly into a bathroom with a shower. Beyond that was a kitchen. The oven was small but functional, and there was a large sink and a microwave as well. Cabinets lined the walls wherever they could be placed, while soft lighting gave it a surprisingly homey feel.

Immediately next to that, with an open counter separating them, was the living area, with wrap-around couch circling a low table. It had enough room to seat all of us comfortably. Past it was the stairwell, which went both up on deck, as well as below deck. The ceiling above the living area and stairwell was raised, providing space for the only windows on the ship. It let in a lot of light, and really made it feel less cramped. It was amazing how large the ship felt from the inside.

Along the opposite side of the kitchen, there was a simple pantry closet. Next to it was the navigation room. That room had many monitors and controls, and also contained the various computer devices needed to run the ship. The engine and lift systems were further below deck, but this room was still loud. Luckily it had a thick door to keep the noise out of the living area.

Michael lead us down the stairwell, to the next floor. The ceiling was lower here, to the point that Michael had to duck his head down to avoid banging his head on various pipes and cables running along it. There were five rooms total down here. Michael explained that him and Jonathan would share a bedroom, as he didn't sleep. The other three bedrooms were for us girls, which I was happy about. The final room was originally two rooms by the look of it, but were merged into one large living area, much like the one above.

Before we headed back up, Michael pointed out that the stairs continued downwards. Below the bedrooms was the engine room, where the jet engine and lift system was held. He mentioned that Anna was the only one who could actually stand upright in there, as the bottom deck was short and cramped.

Just before we headed back up, Jonathan and a couple of dock workers came down from above, carrying our luggage. I thanked them for the help, and we settled into our respective bedrooms. Once we were unpacked, Michael called from above over the intercom, informing us that we were about to get underway. I hurried out of my room up the stairs to the surface deck, and joined the others in saying goodbye to the refugee camp.

Anna waved vigorously to the crew on the ground, and we began to float out of the hangar. Michael handled the navigation this time, instead of allowing the autopilot the honors. Tobias also arrived at the last second to see us off.

"I'll be in constant contact, and monitoring your progress! You guys be careful!" he called out to us over the hum of the lift system.

"If we get lost, it's your fault!" Jonathan yelled back, laughing.

The ship emerged from the hangar, and proceeded to unroll the sails. It unfurled a magnificent main sail, which looked far larger than I thought possible. Once it had opened and grasped the wind, a headsail also began to open near the front of the ship, displaying the RDF insignia. It wasn't the first time I'd seen it, but I hadn't really paid attention to it before. The insignia featured three men placing a flag on top of some rubble. Michael walked up next to me, as I continued to look at the sail.

"That insignia came from an old photograph, from before the apocalyptic event. We're not sure when it was taken, but it was very inspirational. The RDF protects what we've built from the ashes and dust of the old world. It's fitting, don't you think?"

I nodded.

Michael walked back to the ship controls, and received final clearance for departure from the camp. The sails caught a strong gust, and the ship lurched forward out of the camp. I looked back at the camp one last time. My gut wrenched; it felt like this was the last time I'd see the camp. I could only hope I was wrong.

Weeks went by without much excitement after we made it back. Sienna was able to pull the glass shards out of my hands, and they were feeling much better now. Jonathan though, spent much of his time in and out of the hospital, recovering from his injuries. Michael was able to repair his batteries to working order. Once Michael was better, Tobias joined him in helping the RDF analyze the data we retrieved from the dome. Sienna herself was fine, of course, but she was so busy I barely had a moment to chat with her.

That left Anna, who had returned to school. She was far beyond her age in intelligence, so she was placed in the high school. It was challenging for her, which was good, because it kept her mind off of our recent mission. She enjoyed it though, and that made me happy to see. She was growing up rapidly, and I wanted her to enjoy as much of her childhood as she could.

It seemed though, that I was alone. Everyone else had a job to do. I did my best to keep tabs on everyone, and to check in on Jonathan's progress each day. I tried to help the RDF where I could, but I was just in the way. I eventually decided to head topside and do some walking, to clear my mind.

I walked out of the hangar doors, and ran out away from the hustle and bustle of the RDF's various nightly activities. Moments later I reached a rocky hill on the outskirts of the camp, and plopped down. Looking up into the ink-black sky, I imagined I was looking at the stars. It was the one thing I missed from the dome; at night, the false ceiling displayed a beautiful rendition of Earth's old night sky. I couldn't believe that at one time, hundreds of years ago, this rocky cold desert was once a great city. I'd long since forgotten the name, but the dome's name, City Eternal, was certainly a tribute to the majesty of what had been. I continued to lay there, but I wasn't able to sit still. I was restless, so much was running through my mind.

Who would have thought it would have turned out like this?

I fiddled with my new running shoes, tightening the strings. The shoes were specially designed for me. At the speeds I could run at, the average shoe couldn't withstand the impact. More importantly, it tore my feet up terribly. So I had two pairs created. The running shoes I had with me, which had less traction (if the shoes had too much traction, I couldn't slide, and trying to stop at 60 miles per hour without sliding was a painful and long endeavour) and more support were perfect for high speed. The other pair was for more parkour-style running. They had better grip, especially in the toes, where the sole contained a special no-slip grip that allowed me to travel up walls and slick surfaces much easier than I could otherwise.

I pulled myself to my feet, and took off running, full out. Without a real destination in mind, I decided to make a large loop around the outskirts of the camp. The wind whipped through my hair, and pounded my chest, as I forced myself to go as fast as I could manage. I felt like an animal that was finally released from its cage, given the opportunity to run free without restraint. It was the first time I was truly allowed to run in the open air, without be scared or angry. Just peaceful.

My sprint around the camp was short lived, it only took me about ten minutes to reach exhaustion. But when I finally collapsed to the dirt again, I felt happy, for the first time in a long time. Too tired and too uninterested in heading back, I pulled my jacket closed, and watched the dark clouds roll by once more, as I drifted off to sleep.

A few hours later, I wasn't sure just how long, my phone began to ring. It startled me awake, and I quickly pulled it from my pocket.

"Jon, what's wrong?" I said breathlessly.

"I should ask you the same! It's 3AM, where are you?"

"Outside, taking a nap."

"Outside? Are you crazy? It's dangerous to just leisure about up there!"

"Seems pretty safe to me," I replied, confused.

"Will you get your butt back inside before Michael has a heart attack? He's practically ready to form a search party for you!" Jonathan said exasperated.

"Okay, okay! I'll be down in a few minutes."

Hanging up, I let out a deep sigh. It seemed my peace had run out for the day. Still, I came away from the time feeling refreshed, and I thanked God I had the chance.

Another month passed. Jon's injuries had finally healed, and the RDF's researchers had finished analyzing the disk. Jon, Sienna, and myself were called down to meet Tobias and Michael in the war room to discuss the findings. Jon and I were official members of the RDF now, complete with our own badges, so obtaining access to the war room was uneventful. Once we arrived, Michael had us take a seat at the table, while he turned on the projector. The table already had many other officers of the RDF seated. General Ratkins walked in moments later, with Tobias and Sienna directly behind. Tobias joined Michael at the front of the room, while Ratkins and Sienna joined us at the table.

"To begin, our research team has finished their work on the data disk obtained from City Eternal. We've processed every last bit, and unfortunately, what we found was sparse. It seems we were had."

"What do you mean, 'had'? We pulled that straight from their stupid computer!" I yelled, angry at the wasted effort, the pain and suffering we endured.

"It seems that the information contained within the CARMEL system was not quite what we expected. Very little of the military's documents and data existed in the system," Michael informed us.

"Then we went in there for no reason, what a crock of shit!" Jon yelled.

"Don't get too excited. We were able to obtain one small interesting piece of information. This was pulled from their dock itinerary of the past month," Michael said, pressing a button to advance the presentation.

On the screen was an activity list for City Eternal's external docks. Anything that went in or out of the city was listed there.

"We were most interested in this section," Michael added, highlighting a small part of the log.

The log seemed to talk about various military equipment coming in through the docks.

"This record shows an incredible amount of military equipment, far more than we ever speculated existed. Not great news. However, this log also had one other bit of detail to reveal to us," Michael spoke curiously. He eliminated the rest of the log, and zoomed in on a specific area of the military equipment record.

The record said, "Wisconsin Dome".

"Wisconsin Dome? What does that mean?" an officer in the back asked.

"That record reveals the origins of the equipment coming from the docks. This equipment here came from a place called the Wisconsin Dome, possibly the location of some military exercise. The research team was puzzled by the name, so they looked into it. Wisconsin, it seems, was a name of one of the 50 states of America, this country. Wisconsin's borders are far east of here, beyond the Appalachian Divide," Tobias explained.

"We're not sure what to make of this, but the research team seems to believe, and I concur, that this Wisconsin Dome is another dome, just like City Eternal's. We've heard much speculation about the existence of other domes, but City Eternal has had plenty of time to modify historical record, so it's not surprising that they could keep this a secret."

"So what if this is another dome, what does that mean for us?" another officer asked.

"Well, it could either be another area City Eternal controls, and uses for their military. Or, more likely, it's a dome that City Eternal is fighting," Tobias replied.

"If they're fighting City Eternal, then we could use their help," Jon said.

"Right you are, which is why I want to send a ship out to investigate," General Ratkins said, as he rose from his seat. "We've been lucky so far. Based on these records, City Eternal has more than enough firepower to destroy us without a second thought. But if they are at war, then it would explain their general disinterest in our various activities. And if they are at war, we need to talk to this Wisconsin Dome, if City Eternal hasn't already obliterated it. Michael, I want you to organize a small team to travel out east and find this Wisconsin Dome. If they're friendly, organize an alliance, and if they're not, report back immediately."

"I've already started preparations, I hope to leave tonight."

"Good. Take whatever supplies and equipment you deem necessary. This could be the breakthrough we've been waiting for," General Ratkins smiled.

"Okay, everyone, meeting's over. I'll be talking to each of you later to discuss our plans. Don't go too far," Michael instructed.

I couldn't believe what I had seen. Everyone else had begun returning to their stations throughout headquarters, but I was still planted in my seat. How could another dome go unnoticed for so long? And then I was reminded of Mr. Fisher. He said something during our meeting months ago, about the possible existence of other domes. Did he know something we didn't? I had to find out.

"Michael, I'll be back in a little bit. I need to look into something," I said anxiously, and took off for the door.

The dome drew ever closer. I zipped up my hoodie, and took one last look at the direction of the camp. I could just barely make out the glow of lights in the sky. Looking off to the left, I could see the trashlands, aptly named for being the dumping site for the city. It was hard to believe that this very ship came out of there. After diverting my eyes from that eyesore, I once again found myself staring at the dome.

My gut was wrenching terribly. Just the thought of going back there was making me ill. But if this information we retrieve could give us the upper hand, I had to try. There was no sense hiding; sooner or later they would be after us.

Then the moment finally arrived. We reached the dome. Alongside the boat, there was a massive gate, one of the many disposal gates. Michael came up from the cabin, followed by the rest of the group. He walked over to a small panel on the guardrail adjacent to the dome, and pressed a button. The rail lowered, and a platform extended over towards the gate. Michael took the initiative and walked across to the gate.

"Everyone ready to go?" he asked.

"Yeah, let's go," Jonathan replied for everyone.

We walked across the platform in single file. Michael took one last look at us, as if to silently acknowledge that there was no going back now. He then touched his forehead for a moment, and the ship began to retract its platform and sail away to its preprogrammed destination.

Michael then began to study the gate. He looked up and down and all over.

"Something wrong?" Sienna asked.

"Well this is odd… I thought there was an access panel here." Michael said quizzically.

"You mean you're not sure we can even get inside? We did all that planning and preparation and we can't even get in the door?" Jonathan snidely replied.

"I was just through here last week, the panel should be right… here!" Tobias said, slapping a panel on the wall.

"If that's true, then let's see what's behind that panel," Jonathan suggested.

Tobias backed away from the metal panel on the wall, and let Jonathan approach. Jonathan then placed his hand on the panel, and it began to glow white hot. Seconds later, a hole appeared in the panel, revealing an access panel.

After Jonathan finished with creating the hole, Michael walked up to it and looked inside.

"Jon, you idiot! You melted the access panel! I can't do anything with it now!"

"Oh you have got to be kidding me," I said exasperated.

"Fine, I'll just melt the entire bloody gate down, how's that sound?" Jonathan said agitated.

"No! No, don't do that. Not unless you want the entire city after us." Tobias cautioned.

"So what the hell are we going to do now?" Michael asked, eying Sienna and myself.

"Don't look at us; you guys were the one that planned this operation, you think of something!" I said defensively. I wasn't about to be blamed for their fuck up.

"Why can't Michael just use the access panel's wires?" Anna suddenly suggested.

Jonathan, Tobias, and Michael then looked at each-other with such a priceless dumbfounded look that I'll never forget it.

"You… you think you could do that?" Tobias asked Michael.

"I guess so… I mean, I've never tried it, but in theory…"

Jonathan reached in through the hole and carefully pulled out the remains of the access panel. He flipped it over and disconnected a cable from the back of the unit.

"Looks like a typical etherwire cable, you have a connector for this don't you?"

Michael nodded and reached under his shirt behind his back. He pressed something, and a panel opened. Jonathan took the cable and attached it to him.

"Ugh, that's disturbing on so many levels," I said, cringing.

We all stood there for a few moments as Michael worked his magic. He seemed to be concentrating rather deeply about what he was doing.

"What the hell? Tobias, I thought you said this area was going to be empty!" Michael said unexpectedly.

"I did! Is there someone inside?"

"There are two maintenance guys inside according to access logs. I'm trying to find them on surveillance."

I looked over at Jonathan. Sienna put her hand on Anna's shoulder and held her close.

"They're three floors above. We need to get in now or we're going to miss our window." Michael said.

"We're waiting on you!" I reminded him.

As if to shut me up, the gate lurched into action. While the entrance slowly widened, I took a peek inside. Inside was a dank dark hallway, and it smelled of fuel and trash. Certainly fitting of a disposal gate.

We waited for Michael to detach himself from the wall, and we stepped inside. He pressed a few buttons on the gate's access panel, and the gate slowly closed behind us.

"I'm never going to get the smell out of my clothes," Sienna complained, shaking her blouse and holding her nose.

I didn't notice from the outside, but there was the sound of machinery off in the distance. Although it was nearly pitch black now, I could see some lights at the end of the hallway. Tobias took the lead and we slowly followed. As we drew closer to the lights, I noticed that the area ahead seemed to be a sortation center for the trash.

"Someone… no… many people… are coming here!" Anna suddenly yelled.

We turned around to look at Anna, who had one hand in Sienna's, while the other was holding her forehead.

"The men are looking for us, I think… they're confused but determined…"

"We need to hide then, and fast," Tobias warned.

Jonathan suddenly ran ahead and pressed his hands against a wall.

"Jon, what are you doing?" Michael asked.

"There's a vent here. I'm going to open up the wall so we can hide inside, and seal the wall back up behind us."

"That… that will work," Tobias accepted, caught off-guard by the idea. "Here I thought we'd have to run like hell."

Jonathan concentrated on making an alcove in the wall for us to hide in. Anna continued to monitor the mysterious men. Michael tried to jack into the area's security system to look them up. Tobias stood behind Jonathan, apparently amazed at his handiwork. Sienna knelt down next to Anna and was talking with her about the men. I felt left out, and just stood around looking like a dork.

"I've found them on the security cameras. We don't have much time, Jon."

Jonathan simply nodded, not breaking his concentration on the wall. I walked over and stood beside Tobias, watching Jonathan form the inner room behind the wall. At this point, he climbed inside the newly formed hole, and created the small alcove where we would be waiting.

"Jon… you need to hurry," Sienna said. "Anna said that the men seem to have noticed our presence here."

"Alright, it's done, but it's going to be really cramped. Everyone inside!"

Jonathan ushered all of us inside, with him being the last to go in, to seal off the entrance. Slowly the small alcove grew darker and darker. We all kept readjusting, trying to find a comfortable position inside. Anna was the only one lucky enough to have enough space to sit down, while the rest of us were forced to stand or lean on whoever was closest.

Not a moment too soon, Jonathan sealed off the entrance, and we heard the sound of footsteps.

"Sir, we're picking up some strong heat readings down this corridor."

"Trace it to the source, and don't you dare lose them!"

"Yes sir!"

The footsteps grew louder, and it was now evident that there were a significant number of soldiers in the hallway. In the pitch black of the alcove I couldn't see the others' faces, but I had a feeling they were just as uneasy as I was.

"What the hell?" One of the voices outside exclaimed.

"What's wrong, Sergeant?" Another replied.

"The heat readings just stop here. There's no trace of where they went."

"Damn it! We're not going to lose them. I want a full search of the area conducted. Leave nothing unchecked. I don't care if it takes us all night, you hear? You know how concerned the General has been about the break-ins recently."

"Y-yes sir! You heard the man, split up and tear this place apart!"

The sound of footsteps scattered, and we all let out a small sigh of relief.

"Everyone just keep quiet, we're not in the clear yet," Michael said softly.

We kept still and silent for what seemed like an eternity. I do know it was at least a couple hours. My knees were on fire, and it was becoming incredibly stuffy inside. Michael kept us informed on how their ridiculous search was going, and finally gave Jonathan the signal to break us out of this prison.

Once the hole was large enough, we practically spilled out of it. We all immediately crashed to the ground, except for Michael who chuckled at our misfortune.

"Ha ha very funny, Michael," Sienna said snidely.

"What? It's not often I get to flaunt my metal knees!" He said laughing.

After we composed ourselves and were able to stand again, Tobias led us down the corridor and out of the sortation center. It was well into night time now, so the streets were clear of people. The city was much like I had remembered it from years ago. Although this was the industrial district, which surrounded the outer edges of the city, there were a few restaurants sprinkled around, as well as a hospital. The streets were spotless, with bleached white concrete. Cars were rare in City Eternal. Most people either employed the use of the public transit systems or rode around on motor scooters, and because of this most streets featured large walkways.

The buildings were new construction as well. It was easy to tell when a building was new at a glance. The new buildings all used new metal and glass construction, giving them a clean, open look. Older buildings, such as the hospital, used the bleached concrete like that of the streets, which was much cheaper and more plentiful to produce at the time.

Although there were a lot of factories and plants in the industrial district, it was nearly indistinguishable from the inner city skyscrapers. The government focused heavily on the look and feel of the city. They passed numerous laws governing the design and construction of various districts, to ensure that regardless of their purpose, they would all have a unified theme, of City Eternal.

I had to admit, being back inside the dome, and seeing the clean city streets, gave me a feeling of being home. The nostalgia quickly waned though. Putting my hands in the hoodie's pocket, I continued to follow Tobias.

We managed to make it the requisite five or six blocks without being noticed, before Tobias brought us to the old underground entrance. Jonathan stepped up to the rusty, reinforced steel door, and melted away the locks. Michael then shoved the door open, exposing us to a dark stairwell. There wasn't a single light in the stairwell, and I couldn't see the bottom.

Tobias reached into his pocket and retrieved a flashlight.

"Ready for some urban-style spelunking?" he asked.

"As long as it doesn't smell," Sienna replied staunchly.

"Can't make any promises," Tobias said with a grin.

With Tobias once again leading the group, we traveled down the stairwell. Jonathan brought up the rear, stopping to seal the door up again after we were all inside. Once the door was closed, we stepped down the stairwell a few floors. The stairs didn't loop around like typical stairwells did; they simply went down in one line. After a short while the walls ended, leaving only railings and the stairs themselves. For a moment I thought I could see some spots of light in the distance, but I thought it was my eyes playing tricks on me. Certainly this underground area couldn't be that vast.

Tobias then stopped us on the stairwell and briefly shut off the flashlight.

"Let your eyes adjust to the darkness, and you'll see why I mentioned spelunking," he instructed us.

Michael, who obviously didn't need any time to adjust his mechanical eyes, was the first to comment. "It's… incredible. I had no idea this was all under the city."

After a minute of standing there, my eyes finally adjusted to the dark, and I could make out what Michael was referring to. The reason I couldn't see the stairwell is because it was so amazingly long. Traveling down for what I guessed was at least 50 or 60 floors, the stairwell was dropping us right into the center of a massive underground city.

"Welcome to the old City Eternal," Tobias said.

It was an amazing sight. We were only seeing a glimpse of the top of this underground city, and already the scale was massive. The buildings seemed to go straight to the center of the Earth. I could spot the tram system we were heading for on a platform off to the side of the stairs below. It was only one of many such systems connecting the buildings, all suspended hundreds, if not thousands of feet above the ground.

"There's not much we know about this old city. What we do know is this old city was scrapped in favor of the new one built above. We're not sure why the government chose to rebuild directly on top of these remains of the old city, but we believe it might have something to do with the lack of resources. Rebuilding on top of the old city saved a great deal of work creating a new dome, and there was already a reliable water supply.

We think that this is where the first refugees hid. However, it became far too dangerous to live down here. Buildings are in disrepair, and are constantly falling apart. Food is scarce, meaning they were forced to travel to the surface city regularly. The last real activity down here was when the refugees were forced out by the government after they caught on. Many thousands were left outside to fend for themselves, leaving us with the refugee camp as you know it today. An interesting factoid: our impressive power system was stolen from this very city. The government came down one day to retrieve it, and it was no longer there. The bastards went ballistic once they figured that out." Tobias explained.

As we continued to walk down the stairs, I couldn't help but look around. Above was a sky of metal, much unlike the holographic sky projection the surface city used. Immense beams and poles stretched from the ground and the sides to suspend the new city above the old. I couldn't imagine the engineering required to hold such incredible weight spread over such a large area.

Although the city was mostly dead, there were a few areas that still had light, areas that seemed to be relics of the construction of the new city. I really hadn't imagined things. The place was cold and damp, and with the sight of steel everywhere, it certainly felt like a cave. But those lights calmed my nerves, reminding me that regardless how lifeless this old city may seem, there was still a connection to the "real world".

Finally, after scaling down the stairs for what seemed like an eternity, we reached the platform for the tram system. The tram sat upon a large single rail, and featured two open-air cars. We each grabbed a seat as Jonathan and Michael went to work on trying to get the ancient thing running.

"The rail system should have power according to the reports Tobias gave us. It's just a matter of getting this thing up and moving." Jonathan told Michael.

Michael fussed around with the control panel for a few moments, obviously confused and frustrated. Then suddenly the tram lurched to life… for a second, and then went silent again.

"The blasted lift engine won't come start!" Michael yelled to Jonathan who had stepped off the tram and was looking under the front car.

"This engine is rated for 12 amps, what are the rails supplying?" Jonathan asked.

"8 amps, just like all the power systems up on the surface." Michael replied.

"Figures. It'll run on that, but it's going to take more than 8 to get it started."

"Is there a problem, gentlemen?" I asked snidely.

"Shut up and sit down Yukari, last thing we need is some of your lip." Jon replied annoyed. I laughed.

After doing some strange electrical rigging with capacitors or something that I didn't really understand, Michael was ready to give it another try. Jon jumped back onboard the first tram car.

"That should do it, charge the capacitors and try it now."

Michael pressed a few buttons on the control panel, and the tram car lurched again, but this time remained floating just slightly over the rail.

"Alright, we're up! Time to get moving. Next stop, the CARMEL datacenter!"

The tram jumped a couple times, obviously stiff from decades of disrepair. But to the credit of her original engineer, the thing did move smoothly once it was up to speed.

"It'll take us about 10 minutes to reach the platform where the datacenter is. Just sit back and enjoy the view." Michael informed us, like a true tour guide.

I was more than happy to take the time to give my legs a break. Anna looked to be enjoying herself, as she kneeled on the bench in the back and looked down at the expanse below us. Her hair was whipping strongly around her head and she had to constantly push it out of her eyes and mouth.

Sienna was a bit smarter about it, though, and was allowing her hair to flutter behind her in the breeze. She closed her eyes and seemed to just try and find some peace in the rather hectic day so far. I only wished I was able to relax as she was.

For whatever reason, Jon and Michael were bickering over something pointless about the tram, while Tobias was looking over his notepad. I never really paid attention to it before, but I seemed to remember Tobias checking his notepad regularly. The leather-bound notebook had seen better days, as it was faded and falling apart in places. It didn't seem to bother him however, as he continued to write in it.

As I wondered about what Tobias could be writing, he looked up and closed the notebook.

"Michael, we're almost there, try slowing the tram down gradually so we don't make too much noise. I don't want to trip any alarms when we arrive."

Michael nodded, seemingly happy to finally break away from Jon's endless debating. He walked up the control panel, and pressed a couple buttons.

"Uhm, are we even slowing down? You don't have to be that gradual." Tobias remarked.

"Jon!" Michael yelled abruptly.

"What?!" he replied.

"We don't have any brakes!"

Over the course of the following days, Jonathan and I acquainted ourselves with our new home. Sienna took me shopping, of course, and I made amends as best I could with Jonathan. More importantly, however, we were educated on the new RDF espionage mission that we would be partaking in. There was a lot to learn, and unfortunately time was running out.

On the following Sunday afternoon, we arrived at headquarters to go over the mission plan one last time. Tobias was there, this time. He had been conducting his own espionage on City Eternal prior to the mission. Tobias was unique on our team, in that he was the only one without an ability. However, this did not limit his usefulness. Tobias was one of only a few members of the RDF that had retained possession of an active citizen ID card. As far as City Eternal knew, Tobias was an ordinary man living out an ordinary life as a baker. His identity would be key to the team getting inside, without being noticed.

"Alright, so let's go over this one more time," Michael said, pulling up a presentation on the mission plan.

Tobias walked over to the screen and pointed at the RDF's fourth defense line, the top of the camp.

"This is where we will depart. We have the 'Aeris Mk II' prepared to take us to the dome. Once we arrive, the ship will navigate to a preselected hiding spot in the trashlands." Tobias instructed.

"After we arrive, we will break in through this disposal system. According to Tobias's latest report this disposal system should be inactive for maintenance. Since we will be arriving during the night on a Sunday, the area should be rather bare." Michael continued.

"Unfortunately, breaking into the dome is probably the easiest part of the plan. From there, we will need to quickly locate the old tram system in the lower levels of the dome. If we're lucky, the system will have power, and we can ride it to the inner city district. If we're not, we'll have to walk along the line. In either case, we need to follow this tram line. I have discovered that, according to the schematics I was able to dig up, that this line should run directly past the maintenance shafts for the CARMEL (Computer Aided Residential/Metropolitan Electronic Library). The library system is where we'll be able to gather our information." Tobias explained.

"The CARMEL is more than the citizen information network, it is also used by the military for all of their records. Of course, getting to that information takes a bit more than a citizen ID card. Using the maintenance shaft, we should be able to access the system directly, which with my computer expertise, should allow us to obtain the information we need." Michael said.

At this point the General stepped up to the screen.

"And this is where we predict it will become the most difficult. Regardless of Michael's abilities, we're sure it will not take them long to discover that their system has been breached. You'll need to escape from there as quickly as possible. We can't plan for all the contingencies here, however I highly recommend you avoid taking the tram path back, unless it's powered up and operational. Tobias should be able to assist you all in making a quick escape." the General informed us.

"Once we make it out of the dome, Michael can wirelessly signal the ship to return. After that, we'll be in the clear." Tobias said.

"My only worry is, what if we are split up?" I asked.

"I've designated this location," Michael said, pointing at the map on the screen. "It should work to our advantage. It's a restaurant located on the outskirts of the inner city district. Lots of people who won't ask questions. If you get separated, try and find your way there."

"Now, remember each of your assignments on this mission. Anna, your ability will be vital. You need to keep your senses open so that you can warn the others if someone is coming. Stealth is the key." The General instructed.

"Yukari, you'll need to work closely with Anna. If necessary, you'll need to silence anyone who might notice us, before they have a chance to alert the military." Tobias said.

"Michael's job is rather obvious. You will be responsible for breaking into the various security systems that the city employs." The General said.

"Right, and I should be able to obtain a more detailed map of the area once we're inside." Michael added.

"Sienna, your job will be a support role. You and Anna should stay out of any conflicts that are going on. After all, if you are hurt, you can't help the others." Tobias pointed out.

"Jonathan, you're going to be my right hand man. If there's something blocking our path, I'm going to count on you to clear the way. You'll also be the weapons expert, although I hope it does not come to that." Michael said nervously.

"Finally, Tobias, being the most experienced member of the team, will be leading the way. You all will need to listen carefully to what he tells you to do. He knows his way around the city, and he's been an excellent spy of ours for many years. Don't get him killed." The General said with a smirk.

"Yes, please, don't," Tobias added. "I like being amongst the living."

"Beyond that, I believe we've covered the essentials. Working with Tobias and Michael this week we've tried to ensure there will be no surprises, but there is limited information available. Obviously this mission hopes to change that. You are to embark at 2100 hours tonight. I recommend you all head up to the 'Aeris' now, and prepare. We will be establishing full radio silence once you undock."

I nodded to the General, and looked at Michael. He grabbed a few papers from the table, and led us to the elevator. We were pretty silent up to this point, but Anna looked rather nervous.

"Anna, it's not too late to back out. We can handle this ourselves." I assured her.

"No, you guys need me with you, I can do it. I know you all want to protect me, but I don't want to be protected. I want to help."

"Even so," I explained. "There's no reason you can't stay here."

Anna shook her head and stood up tall. She was determined to go, although it did not calm my nerves. I still didn't think she belonged on this mission, but no matter how many times I brought it up, I was always shot down.

Finally we reached the top floor, and exited the elevator. Tobias led us down a couple halls until we reached a doorway to the outside. Once outside, I noticed we were still under some cover, of a large open-air hangar.

"Oh wow!" Jonathan said suddenly. "These are some serious ships! I didn't know we had this sort of fleet available."

"These are our prized possessions; the finest ships captured from the dome's military," Tobias explained. "We will be taking the smaller one down at the end."

Tobias pointed to a ship that resembled the one I had boarded the day I escaped the dome. However, I could tell it was thinner and had a larger mast.

"The Aeris Mk II is a Dasher-class recon boat. She's not armed, but she is the fastest ship in our fleet on sails. She's equipped with numerous sensor arrays and communications systems that make her an excellent stealth boat. She can run quietly, and she will keep us out of sight." Michael said.

"The boat you all arrived on was the Aeris Mk I. She's the same class, but she hasn't undergone any of the performance renovations like the Mk II has." Tobias added.

I wasn't too particularly interested in the details, but Jonathan seemed to be hanging on to every word, as was his nature.

"That explains the thinner profile of the Mk II then," Jonathan replied.

Tobias nodded.

After we finished gawking at the impressive display of firepower, Michael handed the papers he grabbed earlier to the facilities manager.

"Ah, so you're the special ops team. We're just finishing up the fueling procedure." The manager said. "I will need those with boat licenses to place their right hand here and speak your name into the microphone.

The manager gestured to a scanning device on the table, and the microphone.

"We use biometric and voice authorization on the Aeris Mk II. In order to access the navigation system or central computer it will need to be authorized by one of those methods."

Michael, Tobias, Jonathan (who had managed to get his license only the day before), and Anna stepped up to the scanner, and followed the manager's directions. Once they were all processed, he ushered us over to the Aeris.

Pressing his hand on the hull of the ship, the hatchway opened and a small stairway extended.

"Welcome aboard the Aeris!" The manager said, gesturing us inside.

Michael, being the tallest of the troupe, climbed onboard. He then offered his hand to Sienna, helping her on. I picked up Anna, and Michael took her and placed her on the stairs. Then I grabbed his hand and lifted myself onto the staircase myself. Tobias and Jonathan followed. I could tell Jonathan was rather upset about being the last onboard, and he kept urging us to move faster.

After we climbed the stairs, we found ourselves in a hallway that seemed to run from the front to the rear of the ship, with another staircase at the ends presumably leading to the deck. I was rather surprised at the size of the ship on the inside. Although it was narrow, it was quite long. There were 3 bunks, a small kitchen and dining area (which I would later be corrected on as being a "galley and mess"), and what I assumed was the navigation controls.

Michael shuffled his way past us to the front and lead us through the hallway to the stairs in the rear of the ship. He then climbed the stairs, and opened the hatch to the deck. Once we made it up the stairs and out onto the deck, I took a deep breath. I wasn't one for close quarters.

Jonathan gleefully pushed past us now that there was enough space to do so. He noticed the various controls at the rear.

"What are those controls for?" I asked Tobias, who was now standing next to me.

"Those are the manual navigation controls for the boat, should the navigation system lose power or the computer goes on the fritz. They're pretty difficult to use."

Unlike Jonathan, I didn't have my boat license yet. Jonathan was able to simply take the test, but I needed to take some classes first. Up until now I didn't really have a reason to do so, since Sienna and I were the only ones who didn't have a license. My mind began to change over the time I was on the deck. I could feel the wind that was ripping through the hangar, and it gave me a feeling of freedom I hadn't felt in a long time.

"How come this one doesn't have a TURING cannon? The Mk I did!" Jonathan asked, obviously distressed.

"Our TURING cannons are in short supply, and since this is a special ops stealth mission, the need for armament is almost nil." Michael told Jonathan plainly.

Jonathan was disappointed, but the disappointment was short lived. He continued to bug Michael and Tobias about the various changes on the boat. I was growing tired of hearing his overenthusiastic attitude, so I walked over to the controls.

"How do you open the sail?" I asked.

"Here, I'll do it for you," Tobias offered. "Navigation, deploy the headsail and mainsail."

Suddenly to my surprise, a computer male voice responded.

"Deploying headsail and mainsail in stationary alignment."

Not so suddenly but still throwing me off-guard, a pole slowly extended from the mast. It sat about three feet above my head and extended out over the side of the boat.

"I never get tired of watching those telescoping booms," Jonathan said.

While the boom finished extending, I saw two sails beginning to unfurl from the main mast. A cable extended out across the front edge of the deck, pulling out what I assumed was the headsail. At the same time the mainsail opened up, the bottom corner being pulled along a track in the boom. It was certainly a feat of engineering; I hadn't seen anything like it. In 30 seconds flat, I was now looking at two amazing, large sails.

"Headsail and mainsail deployed in stationary alignment," the computer said, acknowledging the completion.

"Oh, that's amazing! They didn't just duplicate the sail plan of the Mk I, they added a headsail to make it a sloop!" Jonathan said excitedly.

"This isn't the full deployment either. It can deploy a second jig, a gaff, and a gaff topsail if necessary. This is what makes her one of the fastest sailing ships we have." Tobias said. "There is a downside, however. In case you didn't notice, this ship is only meant for a crew of three. Since we're only making a short trip to the dome and back, we won't need to make use of the facilities. This is why we're taking the Aeris out today anyway, instead of one of our larger vessels."

Tobias, Michael and Jonathan continued to discuss the various nuances of the ship's design, as Sienna approached me.

"Do you have any idea what they're talking about?" She asked.

"Not really," I admitted.

"How about you, Anna? You've been awfully quiet." Sienna asked.

"They're using a bunch of nautical words, and are talking about the kind of ship this is, I think," She answered shyly.

"So you're about as much in the dark as we are."

She nodded.

As the boys continued to discuss their new toy, my mind drifted to the impending operation. It seemed as though everything was happening so fast. I could barely keep up, I felt like I was constantly being dragged along. I just felt that we were rushing things, and I worried that we might not be prepared for what was in store.

Over the next hour inside, Michael detailed how we'd be approaching the dome and what to do in an emergency. The maintenance crew finished refueling the Aeris, and it came time for us to depart. For the occasion, we re-emerged from below deck.

"Navigation, authorize Michael McCormick," he requested of the computer.

"Michael McCormick authorized for the navigation system."

"Navigation, align sails for departure and plot course for City Eternal."

"Initiating sail alignment, course plotted. Winds from the east-southeast at 12 knots. Weather, fair."

The boom began to rotate along the mast, swinging the mainsail out to catch the wind. The headsail seemed to retract somewhat, as the cable moved along a track on the front of the ship.

"Navigation, proceed with unmooring and departure procedures."

"Powering up lift system," the computer responded.

A humming sound began to emanate from the bottom of the ship. Suddenly, the ship lurched and rose off the ground. At the same time, the ship began to slowly crawl forward out of the hangar.

"Lift system stabilized, retracting landing gear. Communicating intention to depart to traffic control. Traffic control acknowledges and authorizes departure. Landing gear retracted and secured."

I took a deep breath and waved goodbye to the maintenance crew below as we emerged from the hangar. As we moved further away from the hangar towards the camp's exit, everything grew dark. The sky was pitch black, not a star, nor the moon was visible. Only the lights of the Aeris and the scattered spotlights inside the camp offered illumination.

Only minutes later we reached the edge of the camp, and moved out into the open. With the camp behind us, we were shrouded in darkness. The only things visible were the random stations of the first and second defense lines, and of course, the dome of City Eternal looming off in the distance.

I took another deep breath. There was no turning back now. I looked over and realized that I had accidentally been squeezing Anna's hand rather hard.

"Oh, sorry Anna," I apologized.

"It's okay, I'm nervous too," she replied.

I had forgotten that she could feel our emotions. She must have been terrified. Then again, I think we all were, in our own way. Tobias, oddly enough, was probably the least concerned, despite having no abilities whatsoever to protect him. He had the experience, and an established identity in the dome. I'm not sure how I felt about that, but I knew he was on our side, and that was good enough for now.

Michael announced over the intercom that they were going to shut down the lights and begin radio silence, as the dome drew ever closer. The others went back below deck, but I remained up top. As the ship's lights turned off, I leaned against the railing along the rear of the ship, and closed my eyes. I took the band out of my hair, letting it fly loose. The wind was cold that night, and it whipped right through me. But I remained there anyway, enjoying the peace and quiet before the storm.

"Excuse me folks, but we're not open yet," a middle-aged man behind the cooking area said.

"Actually, we're just here to talk to Mr. Fisher." Anna replied.

"Fisher? You're looking at him." The man replied.

"Uhm, are you the only Fisher? I thought that Mr. Fisher was an old man," Anna ask confused.

"Nope, definitely the only Fisher," He said.

"Alright, Mr. Fisher. Are you familiar with a doctor named Sienna?" I asked.

"Sienna? Sure! Oh… you're the ones she was talking about! I'm so sorry, my mind forgets things easily nowadays." He said.

Mr. Fisher walked out from behind the cooking area and shook our hands.

"Pleasure to meet you all! I've heard a lot of things, all good I assure you! Haha!" he said, casually. "So, what brings you to my restaurant today?"

Jonathan and I looked at Anna. To be truthful, it never dawned on me to ask Anna why we came here.

"Well, Sienna thought it would be a good idea for us to learn about the history of the dome and us. She said you were the best person to ask." Anna informed him.

"Did she now? Well, I'm not sure whether I should be honored or insulted! But I guess I'll ignore that for now, for old time's sake."

I wondered just what kind of old times Sienna and Mr. Fisher could have had, since she only escaped to the camp a year earlier. I didn't bother to ask right then, though.

"Well, if you want to hear the story of City Eternal, you might as well take a seat," He said, directing us to the stools in front of the cooking area.

As we sat down, Jonathan spoke up and asked, "So why does Sienna consider you to be so knowledgeable in the history of the dome?"

"Well, I guess that's a good place to start. I have an intimate knowledge of the history of City Eternal because I was there from its conception."

"That's impossible, the dome was built over three hundred years ago!" Jonathan exclaimed.

"Quiet! Are you going to listen to my story or are you going to psychoanalyze it?" Mr. Fisher replied, annoyed.

Jonathan apologized, and Mr. Fisher continued with his story.

"I used to be a scientist working at the US fission reactor plant. I wasn't high up in the ranks, but it paid the bills and the work wasn't too hard. Anyway, one day, I had just finished my shift. I was in the chamberlock, which was an airtight secure checkpoint between the inside of the plant and the outside. While they were performing the usual checkout procedure, there was a loud explosion and numerous alarms sounded off."

"You were there at the beginning of the reactor failure?" I asked, amazed.

"Yes," he replied. "After a few minutes, I heard an announcement that the emergency egress hatches had been opened. Unfortunately for me, there were no hatches in the chamberlock. I was trapped. Minutes continued to pass, and I could hear the sound of the uncontrolled fission reaction eating away at the infrastructure of the plant. There were a few more loud explosions, and finally a part of the chamberlock gave way, allowing me to escape."

"I ran my ass off to the parking lot. There was hardly a soul in sight, everyone had already taken off. I looked back for a moment, feeling the immense heat of the reaction. That's when the reaction finally hit the fuel deposits at the bottom of the plant. Those idiots could have prevented such rapid destruction if they had followed the emergency guidelines. Those fuel deposits were supposed to be neutralized in case of a reactor failure. Instead, in the heat of the moment, they were left alone. As I was running, I heard a rumbling. Rather, I felt a rumbling, deep in my chest. It shook me right to the core, and made it hard to think. I looked back again, to see the color of the reaction change rapidly. I knew then it had hit the fuel deposits. In the next instant, I was hit by a massive shockwave of air from the rapid increase of heat."

"I'm not sure how, but I woke up a few hours later, miles away from the plant. I was lying on my back, all my clothes burned off, but my body was in perfect condition. The radiation from the fusion reactor had given me eternal life. That, my friends, is how I can tell you this story better than anyone else," Mr. Fisher said, with a shallow smile on his face.

"Eternal life? That's impossible!" I said in disbelief.

"Impossible? Aren't you the one with superhuman speed?" he replied with a wink.

"I, uh, right," I shut up quick.

"Anyway, after the explosion, the country was a mess. And that wasn't all. The other reactors similarly exploded over the next couple months. The uncontrollable reactions continued to grow, causing incredible devastation to the world, not just to the ground near it, but to the air, and the weather patterns. The sky slowly blackened with soot from everything burning. Temperatures dropped dramatically."

"So what did they do?" Anna asked.

"At first we thought the reactions would burn themselves out. But it became obvious that they no longer needed the fuel deposits to sustain themselves; they had become self-sustaining. The massive size of the reaction had enough surface area to draw material to burn right from its surroundings. The governments, what was left of them, formed a pact to destroy all the reactions with an experimental nuclear detonation." He explained.

"Nuclear detonations? How in the world would that solve anything?" Jonathan questioned.

"It was a bit ironic, looking back. The one thing we all were sure would result in our eventual extinction would come to be the last hope for our survival. Unfortunately, this last ditch effort was not without its own side effects. What would happen is the explosives would separate the reactions from the earth, which would remove the reactions' fuel supply. It took a lot of nuclear explosives to pull it off, but they were able to finally starve the reactions. By that time, however, most of the planet was a wasteland. What wasn't irradiated by the reactions or nuclear detonations was frozen solid from the cold."

"So that's when they built the dome…"

"Yes. And it wasn't a smooth political process either. Despite the fact that most countries were reduced to populations smaller than some individual US states, they all believed they deserved the right to the remaining world resources to build the new dome shelter. Months of bickering and more lost lives finally resulted in New York City being the prime location. Not because they agreed, but because it was the only place left on the planet that was hospitable enough to build such a structure. Their bickering had dwindled their options down to only one city. New York City, like most of the planet, was also frozen over, but it had the most building material that could be recycled, it was close to the ocean, and it wasn't too irradiated yet," Mr. Fisher explained solemnly.

"What? Politicians arguing even at the cost of human lives? Color me surprised!" I said sarcastically.

"So then the dome was built. But there's only one government now. What happened after the dome was built?" Jonathan asked.

"Hold on, there. That's a whole 'nother story. Let's leave it at that for now. There's something else I need to talk to you and Yukari about."

"And Anna?" I said, curious.

"Just you two. She can listen in but it concerns your future here at the camp, and the resistance." Mr. Fisher said ominously.

Jonathan and I nodded, and I rubbed Anna's shoulder.

"You want to go out and play some of the festival games?" I asked Anna.

"No thanks, I wanna listen."

"Alright then, it's settled. Before I start, could I interest any of you in some Monjayaki?" He said with a grin.

The next morning, I was rudely awakened by the sound of someone opening my bedroom door. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and attempted to see through the haziness. Once my eyes cleared I saw it was Jonathan.

"Hey sleepy, it's about time you woke up. I've been up for three hours now!"

"Ugh, what time is it?"

"A little after eleven. I let you sleep as long as I could."

I slid out of the bed, and wobbled over to the bathroom to take a shower. I continued to talk (loudly) through the door and over the noise of the running water.

"Anyway, I bought you this kimono to wear today. There's an Asian culture festival on the 30^th floor this afternoon, figured you might want to go," Jonathan said.

"A kimono? I've never worn one," I said.

"I'm sure you'll figure it out. Now, are you going or not?"

"Well since you went out of the way to buy a kimono, I guess I have to. I wanted to spend some time touring the camp though."

"We'll have time to do that, don't worry. Sienna said she might come too after work."

"Okay. Hey, Jonathan?" I asked.

"Yeah, Yuki?"

"What do you really think about that mission?"

"I'm scared, too. But I think we'll have to face our fears at some point anyway. The genetic farm may have hurt us, but they didn't kill us. We can't let them rule over us in fear."

I took a moment to think about what he said. Was I alright with just hiding here in the camp? Could I really live my whole life just hiding?

"Think of the others still trapped in the genetic farm," Jonathan added. "Not all of them are going to be as lucky as we were."

All of this weighed heavily on me, and under any other circumstances I'm sure this would have been an easy decision for me. But even Jonathan did not understand the true consequences of their experiments on me. I still held a deep dark secret, one I had no intention of making public anytime soon.

I stood there in the shower just scrubbing furiously for a few minutes, thinking back to the genetic farm and that first horrible experiment.

"Yukari, you alright? You just kinda went silent." He asked.

"I'm alright." I called back to him.

I finished up my shower and wrapped the towel around me. I stepped out of the bathroom.

"Well, are you going to leave or what? I'm not putting on a show for you." I said.

"Eh, it was worth a shot," Jonathan said, as he left my bedroom.

I picked up the kimono off the bed, and attempted to put it on. I fumbled with the obi, the bow portion, but I managed to get it to stay on. I then attended to my hair, and walked out into the living room. Jonathan was standing there, wearing an interesting samurai outfit. He looked at me, and attempted to stifle his laughter.

"What?!" I crowed, wondering what was so funny.

Suddenly, I saw Anna jump off the couch to look at me. She was also wearing a kimono, and I saw that her obi was tied quite differently than my haphazard attempt. She started laughing uncontrollably.

"Haha! You really don't know how to put on a kimono!" Jonathan said.

"Here, Yuki, let me fix that for you!" Anna offered, as she scurried over behind me.

"You didn't tell me Anna was coming, Jon."

"It was a little sudden. She just arrived. Apparently Sienna thought it was a good idea." Jonathan said.

"Great," I thought to myself. "We're going to look like a family now."

"Don't worry, Yuki, I'm well behaved!" Anna said from behind me.

She suddenly pulled tight on the obi, nearly leaving me breathless.

"It's not you I'm worried about," I said, looking intently at Jonathan.

"Hey! You act like I'm going to pretend we're a couple or something!" he said.

"I wouldn't put it past you," I replied.

"Alright, you're all fixed up, Yuki!" Anna said.

"Thanks."

"So, are we ready to go? I want to hit the food district before we head up." Jonathan proposed.

Anna and I nodded.

We headed down to the public elevator, and there was quite a bit of people there. We jumped in line, and I found myself trying to find a conversation starter.

"So, Jonathan, what did you do this morning? Besides buy this kimono, that is."

"Well, I grabbed breakfast, and read up a little on the daily events going on here at the camp. That's where I discovered the Asian culture festival. I then went and browsed some stores on the upper floors, and went to get a boat license," he described.

"A boat license?"

"Yeah. Apparently since boat transportation on the surface is limited, and also dangerous, they require a license in order to buy and sail a boat," Jonathan explained.

"So you're going to buy a boat, then?" I asked.

"Actually, I was going to build my own, or maybe restore a damaged one. I love doing restorations, it was a favorite hobby of mine."

I thought for a moment, about hobbies. I didn't really have a hobby of my own, as a child. I always enjoyed sword fighting, but I never considered it a hobby. It was more of a sport, to me. Thinking back to those times when I participated in Iaido and fencing made me feel excited and free again. I knew then I wished to pick up that sport again, if I could.

I snapped back to attention at the sound of the elevator arriving at our floor. Jonathan hopped in and held the door, while Anna and I followed (along with numerous others waiting. Anna jumped and hit the 46^th floor button, and in a few moments we were on our way. And then we stopped. And started again. And stopped again. And started once more.

"Oh come on! How many stops do we have till the elevator hits our floor?" I asked.

"What are you complaining about, lady? I have to ride this damn thing four times a day!" some guy in the back of the elevator replied.

"Four times? Well aren't you special? I ride it from the 20^th to the 240^th at least 12 times a day!" another guy claimed.

"Whatever, I have to ride the damn main service elevator twice a day!" a third guy cried.

"Would you all just grow up and shut up?" A lady at the front scolded.

I put my head in my hand, wishing I had never said anything. They continued to argue all the way until we got off. Once we stepped off, however, things became far quieter. Eerily quieter, actually. Instead of a hallway, there was a wide open area. It looked like it was outside! There were trees, plants, stone walkways, and a starry sky.

"How is this possible? This looks like the pictures of old Earth!" I said bewildered.

"It's fake," Anna informed us. "They use some kind of greenhouse stuff stolen from the dome. It's the same system we use to grow our food, I think."

I stood there for a moment, taking everything in. Anna started walking forward, and finally Jonathan and I joined her. Anna moved forward at a good pace, as if she had a destination in mind.

"So where are we going to first, Anna?" I asked.

"We're going to see Mr. Fisher first," she said. "I promised Sienna that I'd take you to see him first."

"Who's Mr. Fisher?" Jonathan asked, taking the words right out of my mouth.

"Mr. Fisher is an old man that Sienna knows. He's kind of strange, but he's really really smart, supposedly."

I admit I was intrigued, and a bit curious, but kind of thrown off. I expected this time to be all rest and relaxation, not more drama. It had to be important, if Sienna wished for me to see her, but I still had my reservations.

We walked into the middle of what I would call a town. It was only a single street, and between each small building were stands, with various things like food and games. A few sakura trees poked out from behind the stands. A large number of people were already at the festival, completing last-minute preparations. Anna took us to a two-story building not far from the elevator. Despite being only two floors, it was one of the tallest at the festival. The sign on the building said "Gaia's Monjayaki".

"So he works at this restaurant?" Jonathan asked surprised.

"He owns it, actually," Anna said.

"Monjayaki is an odd choice for a restaurant," I pointed out.

"Like I said, he's kind of strange."

I nodded, willing to accept that explanation for the moment. Jonathan pulled back the curtain and we entered.

"General!" Michael called out in the direction of a scruffy old man in a suit, looking at the main display.

Who I assumed to be the General spun around, and seemed happy to see us.

"Ah yes, the specials!" the General said.

"The young lady here is Yukari Yamamoto. The blond guy with glasses here, he's Jonathan Camden," Michael said, introducing us.

"Nice to meet you," I said, shaking the General's hand.

"Always a pleasure to see a fine young woman here in headquarters," the General replied.

Jonathan shook his hand next and nodded.

"My name is General Ratkins, I'm the head of the Rebellion Defense Force here. Has Major McCormick informed you of the basics?" he asked.

"I have, sir," Michael responded.

"Good. Let's go into the war room and I'll let you know what we're dealing with at the moment," the General offered.

We followed the General down another small hallway in the back of what I would later discover was the situation room. He opened a door at the end of the hallway, revealing a small room with a conference table, and a single large display. The General motioned for us to take a seat, and we did. He then flicked a couple switches, and the lights dimmed in the room.

"The RDF, or Rebellion Defense Force, has the primary mission of defending this refugee camp from the continued attacks by City Eternal," the General said.

The display turned on, and provided an overhead map of City Eternal and the refugee camp.

"City Eternal, over the past few decades, has moved away from their old stance of leaving us on our own. They now desire a technology that we have developed."

The display changed, revealing what I assumed to be technical data on the reactor Michael had mentioned earlier.

"Now that we have something they want, they've begun to attack us. Unfortunately for them, they can't nuke us out of existence without destroying the technology, so they're forced to conventional warfare."

The display reverted to the overhead map, animating to show various attacks the dome city had unleashed over the past few years.

"However, in the past six months, their attacks have strengthened considerably. If they continue this trend, we could be in serious trouble soon."

The display continued to animate, showing how over the next couple months, City Eternal's military would have grown large enough to break through the camp's defenses.

"This is where you come in. We want to take this on the offensive. Unfortunately a frontal assault is not realistic, and looked down upon by the population, despite their resentment," The General informed us.

"Like I told you both a while back, we don't want to hurt the general population. We still hold the military organization solely responsible for what has occurred," Michael reminded us.

"Alright, then if we aren't taking the dome on directly, what are you proposing?" Jonathan asked.

"We wish to create a special task force to infiltrate the dome and grab a copy of their military database. With that information, we could create a better defense for ourselves, and more effectively predict their plan of attack," The General replied.

"And you want us to be a part of that task force," I finished.

"Exactly."

I looked at Jonathan, and then at Michael.

"Are you going to be on this task force, Michael?" I asked.

"Yes. Also, Sienna and our tactical officer will be going," Michael responded.

"I'm in. Anything to stick it back to 'the man' is fine with me," Jonathan said enthusiastically.

I hesitated. While I too wanted to exact some revenge upon those sick bastards back at the genetic farm, I also didn't enjoy the prospect of venturing back into the dome city I had only a day ago escaped from. To be caught again was something I don't think I could take.

Michael looked at me concerned, I think he could tell I was worried.

"Why don't you sleep on it? You've had a rough day as it is. We've still got some planning to do before we can move ahead with this operation, so you've got a few days to think it over." Michael offered.

"Okay, I'll sleep on it," I agreed.

"Wonderful then. I do hope you join us Yukari, we're counting on your abilities. Everyone's abilities, actually. It's the one advantage we have over City Eternal, and I am confident they won't ever see you all coming," The General said.

"Oh, trust me, they wouldn't see me coming," I thought to myself. I gripped my katana's hilt tightly, and began to walk out of the room, for bed.

When I got back to my room, I undid my ponytail and looked in the mirror. A weary face, with misshapen brown hair and half-opened eyes looked back. I looked like Hell, and felt it too. I threw a nightgown on, and immediately collapsed into bed again. I had a feeling tomorrow was going to be another long day.

A couple hours later, I was unfortunately awakened by the alarm. I dragged myself out of bed, and took off the hospital gown I'd been wearing. I took a long shower, but was disturbed by a loud banging at the bathroom door.

"Hey Yukari, will you stop wasting all the damn hot water?! I need to get a shower too!" Jonathan yelled from behind the door.

"Bug off, Jon, women always take long showers!" I called back.

"Like you'd know any—"

"Finish that sentence and I will tear you limb from limb!" I interrupted.

Just for that, I stayed in the shower just a little longer than I would have. After getting out and throwing my hair back into a ponytail (I wasn't one for fashion, alright?), I rummaged through the closet to find something decent for me to wear. The choices were slim, so I just grabbed a long skirt and t-shirt, and threw it on.

Jonathan finished cleaning up himself only minutes later, and emerged from his room and met me in the living room. I looked at the clock.

"Oh… shit. We're late!" I yelled at Jonathan.

"How the hell are we so damn late?" Jonathan yelled back, as he nearly knocked the door off its hinges.

We ran down the hall, following the sketchy map I had made earlier. We reached one of the public elevators, but it was taking an eternity to move. I started pacing around, hoping we'd make it to the headquarters on time. After a few moments of pacing, I noticed a stairwell.

"Jonathan, jump on my back."

"Do what? Why?" he asked.

"Will you just do it and stop asking stupid questions?!" I demanded.

Jonathan climbed up on my back, piggy-back style, and I took off down the stairwell. There were a few people in the stairwell, and I could tell they were a bit freaked out to see a girl carrying a guy down the stairs at over 40 miles an hour. I was going so fast down the stairs, my feet spent more time on the walls (to change direction) than they did on the floor.

However, even though we were going that fast down the stairs, it still took a good few minutes to reach the bottom, where the rebellion headquarters entrance was.

"Alright alright get off me, you're killing my back!" I told Jonathan, while elbowing him in the gut.

Jonathan climbed off of me, and just stood there, as if a bit overwhelmed.

"What? You act like you've never seen me run fast before." I asked.

"Huh? Oh… sorry… you just scared the living crap out of me!"

"Not my fault you're such a baby," I pointed out.

"You could at least tell me when you're going to do that next time," He said.

"Don't worry about that, there won't be a next time," I said. "You weigh a ton!"

Suddenly, I realized that we were standing in front of a desk, with a guy just standing there, at a loss for words for the conversation taking place before him.

"Can I… help you?" he finally asked.

"We're here to meet Michael," Jonathan replied.

"Michael? We have a lot of Michaels. What is his last name?" the clerk asked snidely.

"His last name? Hell, I don't know his last name. Do you?" Jonathan said, turning to me.

"I never asked him!" I said.

"That's brilliant, Yukari. How long have you known him? And you still don't know his name?" he pointed out.

"Hey, what about you? You're not exactly a stranger either!" I defended.

While we continued to bicker, the metal gate behind the clerk opened. Michael stepped out, looking at us and shaking his head.

"It's McCormick. Michael McCormick. I figured this was going to happen, I'm glad I came down," Michael said.

The clerk spun around in his seat to look at Michael.

"Oh, you! Sorry, Michael, I didn't know they were your guests. They were a little, unusual."

"That's fine, Tony. They've always been unusual," Michael replied with a smirk.

I stared daggers at Michael, and then walked around the desk. Jonathan followed. Michael motioned for us to continue through the gate.

"So what is this meeting about?" I asked, as we walked down the long dark hallway.

"I'm going to show you two what the rebellion is really about. What we do, what we have, how we work. I'm also hoping that you two will join the special team I am working on. There's a lot to talk about, so I'll start off with the basics." Michael said.

I nodded.

"The rebellion is mostly comprised of a defense force. We have five lines of defense. The first line, the observation line, exists primarily to keep an eye on City Eternal and what they are doing. They're the ones that give us advance warning of attacks, and give us as much intelligence as we can gather. This line is rather fuzzy, it moves as intelligence changes.

The second line, the hold line, is our primary defense infrastructure. This is where most of our units are posted, and most of our turrets. It's their job to keep anything the first line discovers from becoming a threat to the refugee camp. This line circles about 10 miles from the outer limits of the camp.

The third line, the fall back line, is our secondary defense infrastructure. Many of our provisions are held there, with our support personnel. They keep the second line stocked, and also maintain a place to fall back to if the second line falls. This line circles the outer borders of the camp.

The fourth line, the last defense line, is as the name implies. It's our last real line of defense from attack. This line is actually the top three floors of the refugee camp; the only floors above ground.

The fifth line, is the lockdown line. This line is located on the fourth, fifth, and technically this bottom floor. It is a massive titanium gate. If City Eternal were to push us back to the fifth line, the gates would be sealed shut, effectively cutting us off from the world above. It also cuts us off from the rebellion headquarters, since they could enter from that location also. The metal gate you walked through earlier is part of the massive titanium gate."

After taking all this in from Michael, I came to understand just how serious they took the defense of the camp. Just like everything else I had seen so far, this too showed me that the refugee camp was not merely a camp, but a new, living city.

"That's insane! Has City Eternal really attacked that much to warrant such a thorough defense?" Jonathan asked.

"That is one of the things I could not mention earlier. This is classified. We have something that City Eternal wants. A five-phase fusion reactor." Michael said quietly.

"Don't they already have fusion technology?" I asked.

"They do, but it's limited. Our reactor would effectively solve any power problems they would have for the foreseeable future."

"So why don't we give it to them? Then surely they'd leave the camp alone," Jonathan said.

"No, the exact opposite. If we give them the reactor, they'll have no further use for us. They will nuke the camp until it is nothing but slag. City Eternal knows they made a mistake in allowing the exiled to live outside the dome. The only reason we're safe is because we have that bargaining chip," Michael replied.

After a good few minutes of discussion, we'd finally reached the end of the long walkway. We jumped on an elevator, and it took us up quite a way. The elevator didn't specify how far up, but judging from how long we were inside, I'd say we were close to the surface.

When the doors opened, I was welcomed with the sound of people talking and computers beeping. Tactical displays covered the walls, and people were moving around at a frantic pace. On the largest display, I recognized a diagram of City Eternal.

"Welcome to headquarters," Michael said.

When I woke up, I noticed I was in a bright room with curtains all around me. I laid there quietly for a moment, waiting for the fog to clear from my head. Finally I remembered what had happened, and unconsciously reached with my right hand toward the bullet wound in my shoulder. There was a small bandage there, so I started to lift it.

"Hey, leave that alone," A female voice said from behind my bed.

"Hmm? Who are you?" I asked.

The girl stepped out from behind the bed to look at me face to face. It was Sienna!

"Sienna!"

"Hey, Yukari. I'm glad to see you made it out!" she said.

"I'm just happy to see you again. It's been hell," I replied.

"Yeah, I bet it was. Well, it's all uphill from here!" she said, smiling.

I nodded.

"Your bullet wound is all healed up. Anna actually did the hard work. You were losing a lot of blood, so she had to remove the bullet and stitch it herself before you got here. She did a really good job, I think."

"Yeah, it feels better, for sure. She sure seems to know a lot for a 10 year old," I remarked.

"Didn't Michael tell you? She's one of those gifted children, she only needs to see it once and she knows it. I wish I had that sort of mental prowess. I've been teaching her some nursing practices the past few months. I'm just happy to see her first human patient was a success!"

"…First?" I asked nervously.

"Oh, yeah. She'd only done stitching and such on mannequins up till now. But like I said, she did a fine job!"

My stomach was starting to feel a little uneasy again. It seemed this was going to be a familiar feeling for me outside of City Eternal.

"So anyway, if you're feeling up to it, Jonathan and Anna are waiting to see you," Sienna said.

"Oh, sure."

Sienna motioned to the wheelchair at the side of the bed. I slowly lifted myself off the bed and wobbled over to the chair. I was shocked to notice that the bullet wound didn't hurt anymore. Sienna's healing touch was truly a marvel. I was still a little groggy, however, from anesthesia. After carefully lowering myself in, Sienna pulled the curtains and wheeled me down the room. I saw a bunch of new faces. Doctors and nurses, kids with broken arms, people recovering from surgery, it was just like any hospital I'd ever known. I was shocked.

"I have to admit, this wasn't what I expected when I heard about a refugee camp," I said to Sienna.

"To be honest, it's only a refugee camp in name. It's more of an underground city."

"An underground city?" I asked.

"Yeah, hard to believe, isn't it? We're quite a ways down, too. This city is built like a massive underground building. There's somewhere along the lines of 250 floors, of varying heights," She replied.

"250 floors? How many people are there here?"

"Over a hundred thousand, I think. There's generations of people here who've never seen the inside of City Eternal. The situation is far different than the stories you heard about back at the dome."

I was stunned and speechless. How could so many people have lived outside the dome, and for so long? How could I have not known about all of this? I took a deep breath. It was going to be a long day, there was a lot to learn.

Sienna took me through a few more rooms, and up a floor on the elevator. The elevator doors opened, and she wheeled me out to the waiting room.

"Hold on, I want to walk in," I said.

"Are you sure?" Sienna asked.

"I was shot in the shoulder. I'm not crippled." I snidely answered.

It felt good to be walking again. I walked over to the door, opened it, and saw Jonathan and Anna talking. They lifted their heads and once they noticed it was me, they jumped out of their chairs. Anna rushed over and hugged me, while Jonathan grabbed me and kept me from toppling over.

"I'm so glad you're okay, Yuki!" she exclaimed.

"Heh, me too. And thank you for helping me, Sienna told me what you did!" I said.

"So, your shoulder will be alright?" Jonathan asked.

"Yes, it is already," I answered.

I looked around the room for a moment.

"Hey, where's Michael?" I asked.

"He said he was sorry he couldn't stay, he had business to take care of. He wanted us to meet him tonight at the rebellion headquarters." Jonathan replied.

"You should get some rest, Yukari. I'll show you both to your rooms." Sienna said.

Sienna took us back to the elevator, and we rode up a good 25 floors.

"Now remember, this elevator is just for medical, don't be using it all the time. You're just getting a free ride today because I'm here." Sienna reminded us with a grin.

The doors opened revealing a small hallway. Sienna took us to my room first. Jonathan opened the door, and I stepped inside. The apartment was amazing! It had a large living area, a fireplace, an eat-in kitchen, and two bedrooms. It was furnished with some old, but usable furniture.

"How in the… wow! This is better than my parent's house back in City Eternal!" I exclaimed.

"You can thank Michael for that. He's pretty high up on the RDF's rank, so he pulled a few strings for you and Jonathan. I hope you two don't mind sharing it?" Sienna said.

Sharing? To be honest, the idea that the apartment would be big enough for two people never entered my mind. But now that I saw this place, I would feel bad not sharing it.

"We'll, uh, work it out," I said.

Sienna walked over to the kitchen counter, and scribbled some things on a pad of paper.

"I have to go," she said. "But if you need anything, this is my cell phone number. Michael's is on here too, although he tends not to answer it. There's a computer over there, it can answer any question you have about the camp. Don't forget to look up a map for the rebellion HQ; this place can be a maze sometimes."

"Really, Sienna, thank you. I hope to see you again, soon!" I said.

"Oh, you will. God willing I won't have any more emergencies today and I'll meet you all at the rebellion HQ tonight. Now get some rest, will ya?"

I smiled and waved goodbye as she shut the door.

Over the next few hours, Jonathan cooked up some delicious Mexican rice, and we devoured all the information the computer could give us about the camp, and its history. It told us about how the camp started, how they survived off the waste of City Eternal, and about the recent rebellion movement. I was most interested in how they continuously dug deeper with this camp, expanding it as the years went by. It started out as just a niche inside an old subway system, and grew over the many decades the refugees have lived out here.

It talked about how the camp operates as its own city, feeding off of the rubble of New York City, and of City Eternal. They adapted thrown away technology, processed waste for water, and recycled materials for construction. The service elevators were used to move materials and finished goods up and down the camp. A tram system connected the camp to the rebellion HQ, as well as the 5 defensive lines.

The defense of the camp seemed to be the highest priority. All incoming and outgoing materials and people had to be registered and logged. The five defense lines (of which two were contained within the camp's perimeter itself) circled the camp. To date, only once had City Eternal attacked the camp, without reasonable success.

It was a lot to devour, and we were only at the tip of a very large iceberg. After spending a good three or four hours staring at the screen, Jonathan and I decided to take a quick nap before heading off to meet Michael. I went back into my bedroom, turned off the lights, and instantly went to sleep.