It had been a long time since any one place in the Pit had been filled with people, but the Hive was once more living up to its reputation. Inmates filled the terraces, policed by Songbird soldiers and those among their own ranks who had been armed and legitimised by Hammond. Still, the atmosphere was tense. Whenever this many criminals congregated in one place, anything could happen. The guys with the guns weren't keeping control, they were just supervising the chaos.
Down on the ground floor, Chen moved easily through the crowd. A neckerchief made of the torn up sleeve of a jumpsuit was pulled up over the lower half of his face, not that anyone stood much chance of noticing him in the crowd, Luka keeping pace with him. One-Ear's men were spread in small groups around the area, and a little ways to the right of them, Felix and his escorts from Iron squad were in position. Lastly, Neil and the others were hidden up in the terraces, waiting for their shot. Without radio, there was no way to communicate with them from long distance. Everyone knew what they were doing, in theory... but everyone's timing would have to be perfect.
The noise in the chamber grew as Hammond emerged, flanked by his entourage. Many were cheering, many others were hissing, and it all bled together into an incoherent cacophony. The remains of Lee's execution box had been dismantled and reconstructed into a bullet-proof shield around the podium the General stepped up to. There was no getting a bead on him while he stood behind it. He turned, muttering a few inaudible words to a subordinate, who handed him a megaphone.
"BROTHERS AND SISTERS!" he called out above the noise "WE LIBERATED THIS PLACE FROM YOUR OPPRESSORS. WE EXPOSED THEIR WEAKNESS, AND BROKE THEIR SPIRIT, BUT THEY WILL NOT BOW OUT QUIETLY. EVEN NOW, THEIR ARMY GATHERS OUTSIDE OUR WALLS, PREPARING TO ATTACK, AND MAKE NO MISTAKE, THEY WILL SLAUGHTER EVERY MAN, WOMAN, AND CHILD IN THIS PLACE WHO BORE WITNESS TO THEIR EMBARRASSMENT. THEY HAVE ALREADY LOST, BUT THEY WILL DROWN THEMSELVES IN OUR BLOOD BEFORE THEY GIVE UP!"
"Man, am I looking forward to shutting this fucker up..." Chen muttered to Luka. As he spoke, two figured were being dragged to the centre of the cavern. Abigail and Zach looked gaunt and beaten. Chen had seen that look on many faces before. If he had to guess, neither of them had been given much of a moment's rest since they were captured. Theatrical as ever, Hammond had lined their path with loyal Inmates, who dutifully spat, hurled insults, stones, and even their own faeces at the pair as the were dragged to the centre of the room, and Songbirds began beating the crowd back and forming a cordon.
"THEIR WILL BE NO BYSTANDERS IN THE BATTLE." Hammond continued "IF ANY OF US WISH TO SURVIVE, THEN ALL OF US MUST BE WILLING TO FIGHT FOR OUR LIVES. THERE ARE STILL THOSE WITHIN THIS PLACE WHO CONSPIRE AGAINST US, WHO WOULD SEE YOU ALL CHAINED AGAIN. WITNESS NOW, THE FATE THAT AWAITS THOSE THAT CHOOSE THE WRONG SIDE..."
A rock punctuated Hammond's speech, as it struck the glass right in front of his face. The sea of bodies below was disturbed by One-Ear and his lieutenants fighting the the pro-Hammond Inmates that surrounded them. On cue, other fights began flaring up everywhere. Some of them planned, others just made of independent convicts who weren't going to miss and excuse to riot. Almost lazily, looking bored, Hammond signalled a detachment of his soldiers to break up the fights before everyone could start brawling.
"Showtime..." Chen whispered, as he began to move.
====================================================================================================================================
As Dr. Elewa stole a few moments alone with Lucia, Christa joined the group next to Judah.
"Everyone behaving themselves, I assume?" she asked, chuckling when Jara went white as a sheet "I'm joking, Jara. So long as their are no more repeats of the Lemur incident, you're fine as far as I'm concerned."
=======================================================================================================
"Why keep Sigma off the map?" Yu asked, as the elevator slowly and noisily descended into the bowels of the facility. "It's not like all the other RACDI's are humane, and for the most part everyone turns a blind eye. What makes this one so special? What were you looking for?"
"Not looking..." The old man answered, sombre. "Creating."
"Enough clues!" Selena snapped. Everything about this place was setting her teeth on edge. "You said we had to see it for ourselves. Well, we're seeing it now, and we need some explanations."
"From where do all rulers receive their power, Executive Hernandez?" The man asked.
"I..." Selena paused, wrong-footed, she could have sworn she had never mentioned her name. "How do you know who I am?"
"You were one of the ones She expected." he told her "She has been watching for a long time, to pass judgement. We were only the first."
"You were saying?" Yu urged him on, before Selena could reply again. Best to keep this one on track.
"Yes." The old man said blankly. "It is from the consent of the ruled. Democracy; autocracy; oligarchy; it doesn't matter. Once the people are incited to depose their leaders, it is only a matter of time. Venture Horizon is no more immune to this than any traditional government, and they know it. Perhaps in their own way they are even more vulnerable. A president can make a rousing speech, a board of directors can't. A king can lead his army into battle, shareholders can't. Corporations lack humanity, and therefore do not benefit from sympathy. Our mission here was to find a solution to this conundrum."
Selena and Yu looked at each-other ominously, but said nothing. Now that they'd got him talking, it seemed best not to interrupt.
"What was needed, was to paint a picture of an alternative so chaotic, so violent and uncertain, that Venture Horizon need only ever be the lesser of two evils. Sponsoring extremist groups to attack our enemies and competitors was a long established practice, but in the long term was never a stable tactic. We needed to bring a similar process under our complete control."
"The Songbirds..." Selena muttered.
"She chose the name, but in essence..." he continued "Our goal was to fabricate an organisation that would become synonymous with terror and anarchy all around the globe. It would be a force that Venture Horizon could wield with devastating effect against its enemies while maintaining full deniability, and in the process, frighten all moderate and undecided parties into joining the only side that could prove successful against them. Ours."
"So, you trained a terror cell down here?" Yu asked. "And then they turned on you?"
"Not they, Her." The old man corrected him. "I told you. Simply sponsoring proxies never lasted for long. Relying on groups of individuals, at the mercy of their own internal politics, was too unstable. We needed to give anarchy a face. Intelligent, articulate, and brutal. Someone that would rally the extremists of the world around them, while scaring the moderates into our arms, while remaining, always, under our control..."
The elevator ground to a halt. They were in the Upper Levels now.
"We were almost completely successful." The old man said.
Down on the ground floor, Chen moved easily through the crowd. A neckerchief made of the torn up sleeve of a jumpsuit was pulled up over the lower half of his face, not that anyone stood much chance of noticing him in the crowd, Luka keeping pace with him. One-Ear's men were spread in small groups around the area, and a little ways to the right of them, Felix and his escorts from Iron squad were in position. Lastly, Neil and the others were hidden up in the terraces, waiting for their shot. Without radio, there was no way to communicate with them from long distance. Everyone knew what they were doing, in theory... but everyone's timing would have to be perfect.
The noise in the chamber grew as Hammond emerged, flanked by his entourage. Many were cheering, many others were hissing, and it all bled together into an incoherent cacophony. The remains of Lee's execution box had been dismantled and reconstructed into a bullet-proof shield around the podium the General stepped up to. There was no getting a bead on him while he stood behind it. He turned, muttering a few inaudible words to a subordinate, who handed him a megaphone.
"BROTHERS AND SISTERS!" he called out above the noise "WE LIBERATED THIS PLACE FROM YOUR OPPRESSORS. WE EXPOSED THEIR WEAKNESS, AND BROKE THEIR SPIRIT, BUT THEY WILL NOT BOW OUT QUIETLY. EVEN NOW, THEIR ARMY GATHERS OUTSIDE OUR WALLS, PREPARING TO ATTACK, AND MAKE NO MISTAKE, THEY WILL SLAUGHTER EVERY MAN, WOMAN, AND CHILD IN THIS PLACE WHO BORE WITNESS TO THEIR EMBARRASSMENT. THEY HAVE ALREADY LOST, BUT THEY WILL DROWN THEMSELVES IN OUR BLOOD BEFORE THEY GIVE UP!"
"Man, am I looking forward to shutting this fucker up..." Chen muttered to Luka. As he spoke, two figured were being dragged to the centre of the cavern. Abigail and Zach looked gaunt and beaten. Chen had seen that look on many faces before. If he had to guess, neither of them had been given much of a moment's rest since they were captured. Theatrical as ever, Hammond had lined their path with loyal Inmates, who dutifully spat, hurled insults, stones, and even their own faeces at the pair as the were dragged to the centre of the room, and Songbirds began beating the crowd back and forming a cordon.
"THEIR WILL BE NO BYSTANDERS IN THE BATTLE." Hammond continued "IF ANY OF US WISH TO SURVIVE, THEN ALL OF US MUST BE WILLING TO FIGHT FOR OUR LIVES. THERE ARE STILL THOSE WITHIN THIS PLACE WHO CONSPIRE AGAINST US, WHO WOULD SEE YOU ALL CHAINED AGAIN. WITNESS NOW, THE FATE THAT AWAITS THOSE THAT CHOOSE THE WRONG SIDE..."
A rock punctuated Hammond's speech, as it struck the glass right in front of his face. The sea of bodies below was disturbed by One-Ear and his lieutenants fighting the the pro-Hammond Inmates that surrounded them. On cue, other fights began flaring up everywhere. Some of them planned, others just made of independent convicts who weren't going to miss and excuse to riot. Almost lazily, looking bored, Hammond signalled a detachment of his soldiers to break up the fights before everyone could start brawling.
"Showtime..." Chen whispered, as he began to move.
====================================================================================================================================
As Dr. Elewa stole a few moments alone with Lucia, Christa joined the group next to Judah.
"Everyone behaving themselves, I assume?" she asked, chuckling when Jara went white as a sheet "I'm joking, Jara. So long as their are no more repeats of the Lemur incident, you're fine as far as I'm concerned."
=======================================================================================================
"Why keep Sigma off the map?" Yu asked, as the elevator slowly and noisily descended into the bowels of the facility. "It's not like all the other RACDI's are humane, and for the most part everyone turns a blind eye. What makes this one so special? What were you looking for?"
"Not looking..." The old man answered, sombre. "Creating."
"Enough clues!" Selena snapped. Everything about this place was setting her teeth on edge. "You said we had to see it for ourselves. Well, we're seeing it now, and we need some explanations."
"From where do all rulers receive their power, Executive Hernandez?" The man asked.
"I..." Selena paused, wrong-footed, she could have sworn she had never mentioned her name. "How do you know who I am?"
"You were one of the ones She expected." he told her "She has been watching for a long time, to pass judgement. We were only the first."
"You were saying?" Yu urged him on, before Selena could reply again. Best to keep this one on track.
"Yes." The old man said blankly. "It is from the consent of the ruled. Democracy; autocracy; oligarchy; it doesn't matter. Once the people are incited to depose their leaders, it is only a matter of time. Venture Horizon is no more immune to this than any traditional government, and they know it. Perhaps in their own way they are even more vulnerable. A president can make a rousing speech, a board of directors can't. A king can lead his army into battle, shareholders can't. Corporations lack humanity, and therefore do not benefit from sympathy. Our mission here was to find a solution to this conundrum."
Selena and Yu looked at each-other ominously, but said nothing. Now that they'd got him talking, it seemed best not to interrupt.
"What was needed, was to paint a picture of an alternative so chaotic, so violent and uncertain, that Venture Horizon need only ever be the lesser of two evils. Sponsoring extremist groups to attack our enemies and competitors was a long established practice, but in the long term was never a stable tactic. We needed to bring a similar process under our complete control."
"The Songbirds..." Selena muttered.
"She chose the name, but in essence..." he continued "Our goal was to fabricate an organisation that would become synonymous with terror and anarchy all around the globe. It would be a force that Venture Horizon could wield with devastating effect against its enemies while maintaining full deniability, and in the process, frighten all moderate and undecided parties into joining the only side that could prove successful against them. Ours."
"So, you trained a terror cell down here?" Yu asked. "And then they turned on you?"
"Not they, Her." The old man corrected him. "I told you. Simply sponsoring proxies never lasted for long. Relying on groups of individuals, at the mercy of their own internal politics, was too unstable. We needed to give anarchy a face. Intelligent, articulate, and brutal. Someone that would rally the extremists of the world around them, while scaring the moderates into our arms, while remaining, always, under our control..."
The elevator ground to a halt. They were in the Upper Levels now.
"We were almost completely successful." The old man said.
