Chapter 6 Starting The Journey

Chapter 6

Starting The Journey

 

Elder Melchior had given a tour of the building. Which turned out to be the nerve center of the city. It coordinated the military, communicated with neighboring cities, and was the center for spec ops.

That last one was really cool and luckily it was where Theta and Alysia spent most of their day.

Theta had to part with his suit upon arriving at the Elite Paladin wing, or EP wing.

They had told him it would only be temporary. Thankfully they had comfortable clothes for him to change into. His suit only allowed enough room for some underwear comparable to elastic pants.

The clothes were grey; Pants, shirt, socks, and shoes. He also partook in a new and very strange ritual.

Eating.

He hadn’t been used to it with the suit and all. But now he had to because the suit was being upgraded.

It was very difficult to get the hang of again. And Alysia wasn’t helping. She spent the entire time laughing, hysterically, at him. As well as some of the soldiers in the cafeteria.

The hardest part was using the utensils. He had told Alysia it was harder than it looked.

The cook did this on purpose. Theta knew it because the cook had made spaghetti and meatballs.

Whenever Theta dipped his fork. The darned noodles slid right out.

He saw a soldier in the cafeteria spinning his fork and spoon. Theta had little belief that this worked, but was surprised when the man achieved in taking a decent bite.

Theta tried to replicate this. His results made Alysia flutter to the ground and stagger with laughter.

So Theta had targeted the meatballs first because they at least stayed on the fork when you stabbed them.

After fifteen minutes of trying and Alysia almost crying with laughter. Theta did it.

He had found out how to spin his fork so the noodles stayed on the fork.

He ate with pride and shot Alysia a look as she tried to recover from her fit

After the meal Theta went with Alysia for her inspection. They were going to check her systems. No upgrades though. Her system wasn’t compatible with their gear. Besides Theta didn’t want Alysia to change. She was already very good. New stuff would only slow her down.

Later that evening after dinner. Which was much easier because it was a healthier version of country fried steak. At least that’s what they told him.

He was summoned to the weapon research and development area to check on his suit.

Nothing seemed to have changed on the outside. However it was now accompanied by a black cloak as to not stand out. It had a hood to cover his head. The sleeves were designed to not get caught on his blades or impede his hands. It had a slit on the back so it wouldn’t balloon if he needed to run or use his thrusters. It was also completely fireproof. The material itself would not tear either.

Unless something very powerful tried to rip it, the design team said.

His swords had also been upgraded. They now could become super-heated and cut through most of everything.

The scientists originally thought the heat would be problematic. But they found that his blades were not made from ordinary steel. But of molybdenum and titanium alloy. Which allowed it great resistance to acid, stress, and heat. They said the two metals had been tampered with even more to have even greater heat resistance than normal. They said that not even a nuclear reactor exploding, in a volcano, on a hot day would melt them.

Theta didn’t understand how they got the blades to heat up but Alysia said it was safe.

When they had finished there Theta and Alysia were directed to a room to sleep until tomorrow.

That night Theta dreamt of more flames and screams.

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When they awoke they were treated to breakfast and were given some last minute info as they boarded a helicopter that would take them a safe distance from the battlefield.

A scientist showed him how to set the destination on his suits navigation system.

Also a child was at the helipad. She was probably only eight years old, but was accompanied by Elder Melchior. Theta approached to say goodbye to Elder Melchior.

“Before you left I wanted you to meet the one who predicted your arrival.” He said.

“A child?” Theta asked.

“Yes we were also surprised. But she also shows great knowledge for her age. She also exhibited great understanding in all things.” Elder Melchior said.

Theta looked to the girl and squatted low to look her in the eyes.

She had brown hair, freckles, and such wise, violet eyes.

Theta removed his helmet and said, “Hello.”

The little girl looked down, embarrassed.

“What’s your name?” Theta asked.

She peeked up and said, “Serena.”

Alysia, who was perched on her usual spot of Theta’s shoulder, said, “That’s a very pretty name.”

Serena giggled and hid behind Elder Melchior.

Theta stood back up and carried his helmet under his hand and walked to the helicopter.

This one was smaller than the one that had brought Theta to the city.

It also appeared to be faster.

It had an open sitting area that was connected to the cockpit.

Theta sat down on the chair and waved to the pilot. The pilot nodded and began the liftoff process.

As they got higher. Theta looked out the window and could just see Serena waving at them. Theta waved back and prepared for the flight.

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They had been flying for a couple hours. Theta asked the pilot how they planned to get to the other side of the continent.

“I will be dropping you near the transport city, Chatus. It is a city that transports everything from people and weapons to food and furniture. It is costly and it is under the control of the enemy. You will need to pay to get near the facility. We suspect direct access is prohibited.” Said the pilot.      

“So you can’t take us all the way there?” Alysia asked.

“I will take you as close as possible so you aren’t suspected of anything and I don’t get shot down.” The pilot answered.

A little while later Theta asked, “How far away are we?”

The pilot pointed and said, “That’s the city over there.”

Theta looked and saw a large half-sphere floating in the sky. It was about a mile in diameter. A large, steel cylinder connected the platform to what looked like a depot city. All he saw were mills, factories, and buildings with different names on them. It had many roads and railroad tracks leading into it. Theta also saw black spots going into and out of the city. He assumed they were aerial transports.

“What is that big ball thing?” Theta asked.

“That is the Launcher. It uses strong electromagnetic anchors attached to specially designed capsules as transports.” The pilot explained.

“I can’t see anything moving from it though.” Theta said.

“That’s because the pods are moving blink fast.” Alysia said.

“How can you tell?” Asked Theta.

“My eyes are stronger than yours.” Alysia said with a smirk.

A couple minutes later the pilot told them he was dropping them near a subway system that would take them to the city.

When they landed Theta and Alysia quickly got out and waved off the pilot. Who lifted off and began the trip back. They had landed on a plane near the edge of a set of woods.

Theta pulled up the hood to his cloak and ran to an L-shaped, concrete building. It had no windows, but it did have a radar dish on top and various security cameras. The building was also surrounded by steel, storage units. He went down a set of stairs just inside the entrance; which was a glass revolving door.

Downstairs it turned out to be what looked like a subway. There was a platform, benches along the wall, and pillars placed periodically near the edge of the platform.

There wasn’t a tram in the tunnel just yet. But a black cube in the ceiling projected a third dimensional timer and it read that the tram would arrive in ten minutes.

Theta went to sit on the bench and Alysia remained on his shoulder.

 After a while, Theta looked to Alysia and said, “How are you getting into the city? I don’t think hawks are exactly normal.”

“Cloaking. The scientists planned for getting into the city, as well as moving around in it.” Alysia explained.

“Well you might want to activate it. I hear people coming.” Theta said.

Without a word Alysia simply disappeared. He could still feel the weight on his shoulder though.

A couple seconds later a large group of people entered the station. There were assorted businessmen, businesswoman, and people who looked very tired and not in any mood to work. All the business people had a silver ring around their head that covered their eyes and ears.

Theta could see the people nodding yes or no and would occasionally give directions about assorted business matters and the coffees they wanted.

Most of them didn’t speak so it was very quiet. The train was three minutes away.

Theta then heard metal boots clanking down the stairs of the station. He slowly switched between watching the stairs and the time. A group of men armed with rifles and protected in heavy looking metal armor. They were scanning the crowd carefully.

There was a minute and forty-five on the clock. Theta got up carefully and walked slowly into the middle of the crowd. None of people noticed.

One minute left. The men in metal looked in Theta’s direction and began to slowly move towards him. There were about eight of them. They spread out some stopping in other parts of the crowd.

Twenty seconds.

This clock had better be accurate, Theta thought.

Three of the soldiers were coming near Theta. The others had spread out along the platform.

Theta heard the train coming. It coasted lazily into the station. It looked like a tube made of mercury. It was silver and liquid looking. But entrances opened along its side and everyone boarded.

The inside looked like a normal subway car. Even had authentic trash, grime, and graffiti. There were normal seats and poles if seats weren’t available. Theta chose a seat close to the exit. The three soldiers stood in the middle of the area leading into the subway car. If Theta wanted to get out he would have to bypass the soldiers. Chatus was the first stop and was only a few minutes away.

Theta tried to appear relaxed and kept his head low. The cloak obscured his face effectively, but the soldiers watched him. Not intently as to reveal their intentions. They watched out of the corner of their eyes.

Alysia helped him keep tabs by linking what she saw to his visor.

They were arriving at the station.