SkyEarth (Reborn) Book 1: Stratos Rising

Chapter 12: The Bronze Wolf

Stratos airships will unleash FireRain...

Manny's words echoed in Shaun's mind as he, Esme, Mason, Manny, and a few other Revolution 13 soldiers ran through the long and labyrinthine corridors of the secret Wolf Guard headquarters. Manny gave Shaun up to speed of what the Revolution knows about the Stratos and its connections to the Thorne Committee. Apparently the president and the leader of the Stratos had come to an agreement; the Thorne Committee will be promised a complete reform of the Granazian government, keep its involvement with the Stratos in complete secrecy, and the silencing of dissenting voices within the country in exchange for any support the Stratos needs, whether be it soldiers, weapons, or just information. The Rotary Society, of which Jonathan Ambrose was a member, was one of these dissidents.

Soon the Stratos, whom the corrupt Granazian government secretly support, is now heading this way to invade the capital city.

And eventually the whole Granazia.

While running, Esme gave Shaun a few things like polarized goggles, a medical mask, and three small, round canisters, each have a different colored ring around them.

"The white ring one is a flash grenade, the black one's a smoke bomb, and the green one's a stink pellet, Oliver's concoction." explained Esme. Shaun looked at her and then at Oliver as if he didn't understand. Oliver flashed him a smile and said, "Full of nasty stuff I gathered in the filthiest back alleys of the Outer Ring. Trust me; your nose will never be the same once you catch a whiff of it."

Shaun didn't argue with him. He could already smell what's inside the green-ringed explosive canister. It smelled of something even worse than methane or sulfur. He decided to save it for last. He donned the goggles and mask, thinking that things will get violent soon enough.

As the group of rebels made a left turn, they were greeted by a platoon of Wolf Guards, their shields raised and batons ready to strike. The group halted and assumed combat stance. Lacking any fighting skill and armed only with a few explosive canisters and a palette knife, Shaun wouldn't know how much help he'll be.

One of the Wolf Guards, the captain, stepped in front of his platoon with a megaphone in hand. He raised it till his mouth reached for its speaker and began to speak. His amplified voice echoed throughout the corridor.

"Rebels of Revolution 13," he said, his voice booming. "The Wolf Guards in this headquarters outnumber you a hundred to one. Call off your arms and surrender. If you resist, I will have to authorize the use of force to restrain you. Whatever it is you're doing here, it's not worth the risk for all of you to give up your lives. Surrender to us peacefully, and we'll let you live the rest of your days in prison. Retaliate, and we have no choice but to capture all of you... or kill you. What's your decision?"

Shaun didn't believe the words coming out of that captain's mouth. They'll kill the rebels anyway.

The rebels didn't respond. In fact they didn't react in the slightest. Only one of the rebels, who Shaun recognized as Manny, took a few steps in front of his group, a few feet away from the captain. He produced two round canisters, a white ring flash grenade, and another with a silver ring. Shaun didn't know what it does; he watched as Manny casually tossed the two canisters and brought out his two metal batons from the holsters of his belt. The captain commanded his platoon to raise shields. He backed away and stared warily at the tossed canisters, and then looked up at Manny, who was still standing in place, very near to the canisters.

"Shaun, cover your ears!" said Esme, her voice muffled by the breathing mask. Shaun seemed to be transfixed by the canisters, but in a split second, he instinctively ducked. He tightly closed his eyes shut and his hands went over to his ears, covering the best he could before the two canisters explode.