The Sun

"What did they offer you?" asked Lud

"Nothing. I've decided that Agaklythos' side was the right one" said the person who was standing in front of him

"You just want to become the Chief, don't you?" asked the Leader.

The man's hand was close to the gun.

"It isn't just that. He promised that we can prosper under them. That we're going to have a future if we do as we're told"

"Do you know that it means concealing the truth from everyone?"

"What truth?"

"They're here to exploit a technology which was created by Cressida. Till then, we will survive. After that they'll finish what they started"

"And what do you want to do, exactly? Waging a war against an empire with a bunch of Dragonflies?"

"We need to get back our freedom and unite against the enemy"

"You told us that Cressida is the enemy"

"She isn't. We need to unite with her to win against the Empire"

Lud moved closer to his interlocutor.

The individual took out the gun and pointed it at him.

Lud opened his arms.

"There is no need for violence. We need to tell the truth to the citizens"

"And bereave them of hope. Never"

"Please, listen to me. There won't be any hope when they will obliterate the planet"

The gun was quivering, without aiming to a clear point.

"I can't let you…I'm sorry…I…They threatened me and the other one"

"Who?"

"A…clone…I've heard him screaming. It looked like they were brainwashing him or something."

"This is worse than I've expected."

"It doesn't change anything."

"But you still have a chance to change."

"If I do so, we'll be doomed."

Lud's hand went closer to the weapon.

"Just trust…"

The gun fired.

Lud felt on the ground, as the video was showing the thug in front of them from the ground.

Then he took a transceiver and activated it.

It buzzed than a voice answered on the other end.

"It's the Chief of Rocabarra. It's done. I've done my part of the deal. Now it's your turn."

Then he walked away from the camera and the camera kept running.

There was only the blowing wind in the background.

Kurban turned the video off.

The people of Rocabarra were speechless.

Hush.

Silence.

His ears were shut. His mind discombobulated.

He looked around. The wall's rubbles were scattered on the ground. Some of them had pools of blood under it mixed with crushed innards.

Someone was saying something to him.

One of his lieutenants was trying to get Fanon back to reality.

His voice was…like a tedious buzzing in his ears.

His earing got better after a while.

"Sir…they…coming…we…fall…"

He tried to stand up. It was hard. His left leg was hardly moving.

He tried again.

"Sir…look…of…you"

He shook his head and expired.

"Sir, they're coming."

The leg reacquired its strength and started moving.

He stood up, with hardship.

He looked in front of him.

An army was advancing toward them. They were going to enter into the city.

"Prepare for the battle" ordered Fanon.

"But Sir, we don't have enough men to face them"

"How long do we have before the rest of the army reach us?"

The lieutenant opened his arms and shrugged.

"Assemble who is left and kill the 'Birds who survived."

"Sir, we won't be able to hold them long enough."

"We've already lost our advantage, lieutenant."

"We still have the cannons, sir."

"They're too close for them."

"Then release our Dragons."

"I won't use all our cards. We don't know their entire strategy."

"But, sir…"

Fanon gave him a harsh look which cut him short.

Then, the enemy rushed in.

"What is this wall?" asked Gluskap to the Elder

"I...I don't knows"

"You got us here. What are we supposed to do now?"

The Shax shrugged.

"I'm deepply sorry, my Kings"

"Can we take it down?" asked him to one of his under.

"I think that it's too thick to toss it off"

"Dammit" shouted Gluskap

"Sir, maybe we won't have to do it"

Then the transceiver buzzed.

"Secretarybird is getting into the nest"

"That's the signal, sir"

"I know about it. We haven't much time. We just need to understand how to get past this metallic wall"

"Sir, we found something"

Gluskap paced briskly toward the 'Bird who said it.

"There's a hole here, with a symbol on it"

"I want to see it"

The rebel moved and he saw it.

A small cranny with an engraving which looked familiar to him.

He thought about it.

They were waiting his orders.

Then he took the transceiver which was given to him by Gehenna.

He looked at it, then back at the slot.

The sun was at the zenith.

Smoke was rising from the outer rim.

"They're here, finally" said Tithon

Gehenna didn't answer. Not immediately.

"Please, stop it. Go out there and solve it without causing unnecessary death."

Tithon grinned.

"Why would I? It appears like they don't care about winning. Only a careless idiot would attack this city like that"

"Please, let me go down there. I can try to reason with them. To find a compromise"

"No. You'll stay here and watch. It's all because of you. It won't be long anyway"

"Why are you sure about it?"

"Because I am. Everything will be over before nightfall. Now sit down and watch the show"

She sat, as told. Then her eyes went to the sky, to the purple star which was already visible, yet dim.

Malsumis was still waiting for anything to happen. His eyes were peeled to the iron wall in front of him.

"Sir, do you think that it already started?" asked one of the Whiskers

He shrugged.

The time was moving slowly.

He was bored.

He stood up and went to the wall.

His instinct was telling him to watch carefully. Or, in this case, listen.

He put his ear on the cold surface and stretched his timbal, trying to catch the most muted sounds.

"Sir, what…?"

He hissed and put his finger on his mouth.

The whole squad hushed.

At first, he felt only the sound of his breath. Then he heard something. It was hard to catch.

He focused on it.

It was like a discontinued humming.

Then he recognized words in it.

"Sign…"

"Ho…"

"Wan…"

He detached and walked backwards.

"Prepare yourself" ordered to his men.

Then the Whiskers started taking position behind him, while pointing their guns toward the wall.

"Are you sure about it, sir?"

He nodded.

The 'Birds were springing through the bore in the wall, screaming and fighting like they never did before.

Their eyes were scarlet and their bodies were imbued with vengeful power.

The Whiskers were being crushed and steamrolled by the charging battalion.

Even though their forces were more than the enemy, the Whiskers were holding up nicely.

"Push further" screamed the captain.

Then his eyes caught the side of a Dragonfly which was not far from them.

It was where most of the opposing forces were placed.

Among them there was an injured official.

"The best of you with me" ordered him.

Then he ran toward his target. By his side, some of his men were killed.

He looked at the sun which was starting his slow descent.

Then he looked back and he saw no one else. All the 'Birds of his squad were there.

"Hold. Hold till sundown" told him as a bullet penetrated his arm.

He tilted his head and saw that the snipers were shooting at them from above.

They were already there.

Fortunately there were some 'Birds up there who were limiting their actions. The few ones who were intended to get up there after the Jaguar squad.

Gluskap touched the hole. He wanted to be sure that what he was going to do, wouldn't have left him without it.

He felt it then nodded to himself.

"Sir, what should we do?" asked one of the 'Birds

Gluskap looked at him.

"Prepare yourself. We don't know who or what is waiting for us on the other side"

The squadron disposed itself in the asset which was used by them during battles.

He put the object in the slot.

It started to shine and blink.

A sudden sharp sound of huge mechanic gears reached their ears.

His men were quivering.

He stepped back.

The wall started moving. Sluggish.

Light rays were coming in with increasing volume.

"Don't move" ordered Gluskap

A thick pall of dust was being throwing up. The soldiers covered their eyes with goggles.

One of them peaked beyond that and embraced his gun.

Gluskap did it too.

There were people there.

The gate was almost completely open.

Then it stopped.

And the dust felt down, revealing who was waiting on the other side.

He couldn't believe it.

That face, he didn't see it for so long. He missed it.

The two brothers were looking at each other, while their men were waiting for one of them to give any kind of signal.

They were both shut.

And silent.

No one was ready to spoke. Neither the Chief nor the people.

Kurban was waiting too.

Then he stepped forward.

"This is the truth, citizens of Rocabarra"

Then he gave a look to his opponent who was looking for allies among the crowd.

"You Chief, and I suppose, the ones before him, have betrayed you"

"Why would he do it? Why would the First Chief kill Lud?" asked a woman among the crowd.

"Greed or, simply, pow…"

"This is not true" said the person in question.

"Explain."

"Me and my predecessors wanted to ensure a lasting future for our planet. Lud wanted to wage war against an enemy which is far greater than us"

"This isn't peace. It can't be built on a lie"

"But it worked, we thrived, for so long"

"This everlasting peace is not true. Agaklythos will subdue us or worse"

"Agaklythos doesn't own this planet"

"Slaaf should be ours" said a citizen

"Rightly so"

"We should get rid of the invaders"

"But, without this deal we wouldn't be here"

"This true, tough"

"What are we supposed to do, Kurban?"

He didn't answer right away. He wanted to tell his answer in the best possible way.

"We should unite against the enemy. Only then we will be able to be free"

The Chief grinned.

"And do you expect that Cressida and his people will be on your side?"

"I don't know about it but we must try"

"What if they will consider us enemies?"

"They don't know about us. No one knows about Rocabarra"

"I'm not coming. I prefer to stay here rather than to risk my life for a minuscule possibility"

"Me too"

"Yes, but going back to Scarbray would be better than stay here, underground" said one of the young ones

"What if the city isn't as unite as you say?" asked a young tall girl.

The 'Birds were closing on the few Whiskers who were still left. Fanon was doing his best to fend off from any of the enemies' attacks.

His injury wasn't helping him.

They were flowing in like a swollen river. They were too much.

"Where are the reinforcements?" asked to the Whisker by his side

"We don't know, sir"

"Give me your transceiver, for fuck's sake"

He threw it at him while they had some time to breathe.

"Report your position" stated him while pushing the button on it.

Only a muted buzz was coming out of it.

Until then.

"We…"

"Clo…al…"

"Change your frequency, soldier. We can't hear you"

"The…."

"Don't…know"

One Hummingbird came so close to him that he had to get rid of the transceiver to defend himself.

His opponent was tough but one of his men helped him get rid of him.

Their men weren't ready for that kind of threat, not all of them at least. The new recruits were too unripe to be helpful. They only had the numbers to their advantage. At least, this is what he thought.

"Brother?" asked Malsumis

"You're still alive" replied Gluskap

"What do you want to do Kap?"

"We need to get rid of Tithon. This war doesn't need to be fought."

"Why? And why should I trust your words, you betrayed the rebels cause by siding with Gehenna?"

The 'Birds on Gluskap's side started arguing among themselves. They were looking at their leader with unsure eyes now.

"You never understood the purpose of the rebellion"

"Tell me that then"

"We were supposed to be the second chance to the people who went against Gehenna's vision"

"Visions?"

"I don't know why she chose us but, as clones of the same ancestor, I can tell you that there is a valid reason to it"

"What is it?"

"She gave us the responsibility of keeping the unsatisfied people from doing bad things to the city"

"I understood it but why?"

"She never wanted war. She built this city from the ground up and created us. She never told me why but once I heard her using the words second and only chance"

"We don't really die. The reboot gets us a second chance. I think that she was talking about that"

"No, she didn't"

"Did she say anything else?"

"No but have you ever noticed that she used to check on the purple star frequently"

"So what? Is that a reason not to consider you a traitor? Your men should be on our side"

One of the Shaxes Elder threaded forward.

"Wey justs wannt to gets bacck intos they city" told him

"I don't care about the Shax's words. I still consider them our enemies"

"Brother, we need peace" stated Gluskap

"What if I don't want it?"

"I can't believe you. Tithon isn't our best choice and you know it"

"Then tell me the truth. What are we supposed to fear which is worse than the society which was created by Gehenna? A society where the poor were exploited, and the rich enjoyed their life. A society made of lies. We're mortal being who didn't decided to be put in this world of suffering"

"At least everyone got a job and a purpose. There was peace"

"A peace based on lies"

"Look at us now, then. Do you prefer that situation? Everyone is dying and there're people who are created only to kill, like the ones behind you. There used to be just a few of them, only to control the citizens, not to enslave and terrorize them"

The Whiskers behind Malsumis didn't take it well. The blood in their veins was boiling.

"You don't even know what changes has brought Tithon?"

"What? He removed the gates between the Hara and Haguel. Just that"

"No. He gave everyone a voice and a chance at a better life. When he realized how meaningless was everyone existence, he removed rules and stigmas which crippled everyone. The concepts of work and profits are obsolete, everyone has time for his interests and his loved ones. We have a choice now, there isn't someone who decides for us. We're master of our own destiny"

"Yet, he wants to be called and treated like a King?"

"In fact, you always had the same role, which is now even greater"

"What then, brother? Are you really going to fight me here, in the lab where each one of us has been created?"

"Do I have a choice?"

"If we fight no one wins."

They were winning. The Whiskers were crumbling under them.

The Hummingbirds were imbued by a strong and volcanic courage and grit.

Fears was in the eyes of their enemies.

The sun was still up in the sky, hours from sunset.

They still had time.

"Push comrades, push and triumph" was shouting the captain to prime his men.

The city was going back to them, all of them.

After a long, too long time in the sand, they would've made it.

Gluskap would've uphold his promise.

The high ranking official on the other side was still managing to survive and protect his aircraft.

Then he looked up. Less bullets were raining down now.

It was their window of opportunity to penetrate into the city and reach the Hara. In all their minds they were imagining Gehenna being taken down and given to the people. They didn't care if she lived or not, they just wanted to remove her from the throne.

Then a noise started reaching their ears.

It was in front of them.

Heavy steps.

The Hummingbirds in front of him had quivering legs.

One of them stepped back.

Something went through his body.

A hole was on his chest.

Blood.

He looked at the sun.

With a hand he tried to take it down.

In vain.