Elites Chapter I: Rise of Endgame

Chapter VI: Turning Tides

3am

Outside the remains of the base, multiple helicopters were flying over and there were trucks on the ground. Colonel Barnes walked through what was left of the building. There was no sign of the Elites. He then looked at where the shaft used to be, and saw the metal box many feet down, with nowhere for it to go. "Barnes reports: No survivors. Elevator Shaft collapsed. If these rebels are still alive, they have nowhere to go or a way to get out. They will likely die of suffocation within the next hour." Once Barnes said that, all troops were called back. They all piled into their trucks and left.

On a monitor in DC, Pirce examined the wreckage of the blown base. "It's over. Phase 2 is complete. Prepare Endgame for launch. I want those satellites in the sky within the next 48 hours. We cannot fail now."

In the elevator, the Elites were pretty shaken up. They were trapped with no way to get out. Robert wedged the doors open, only for tons of dirt and rubble to pile into the elevator. "We can't get out that way!" He yelled. Zach then said "I have an idea." His hand then became a cannon and shot the roof of the elevator, freezing it instantly. "Now..." Zach said "I need you to punch the roof as hard as you can. Punch a hole large enough so we can each squeeze out." Rob then climbed to the top of the rubble and punched the ceiling. Each time, he would take a little bit of the rubble to form around his arm. Until after a few minutes, he finally broke a hole in the ceiling. Zach's hand then converted to a knife, which he used to cut the hole until it was larger. They then climbed out. Jay climbed out after, and pulled Nat with him. Nic then used her own flames to shoot upwards and out of the trapped elevator.

Outside the blown bunker, The Elites took cover in one of the remaining structures. "We were set up from the start!!! They knew this would happen!!!" Jay yelled. He had really lost it, his usually curly hair was beginning to straighten and spike up. The static charges were also becoming stronger. Rob then said "The hunters have become the hunted. How the tables have turned." Nat then walked up to her angered friend, she could feel the electricity flowing through herself and their air around them. She held Jay in a tight embrace. "I know things have gone to hell, but it's not too late to turn it around. We can still stop these monsters. We still have the drive, We can still find out what IATO is planning and put a stop to it." As Jay began to calm down, Nat let go of her friend and continued her speech. "This cannot be the end. We'll put a stop to IATO's master plan! We'll take all the chances we can get, until they're all spent." Zach then said "The drive was decrypted and is now untraceable, Let's see what's in it." He then plugged the drive back into his ear. Zach's eyes then glowed a deep blue as they began to project everything on the drive. "These are the schematics here." The projection then showed a large egg-like object. It had rocket engines all along the sides, and on the bottom was large dome. "That's one of SpaceX's newest satellites." Zach then said "This is Project Endgame. It's a series of interlinked satellites across the world. They're each equipped with long range weapons and is controlled with a well planned algorithm to identify threats to the United Nations." Nicole then asked "But how does the satellite determine what's a threat and what's not?" Zach then opened a second file and spoke "The way this algorithm works is by looking at each person's records. School, Government, Criminal, all of that stuff. Rob then looked at the information and said "But these credentials aren't right. It's saying that anybody who's an activist, liberal, or anybody who speaks out against oppression is a threat. Anybody who fights against injustice is a threat." Jay interrupted and said "This isn't a world peace project. It's the beginning of a new world order. Billions of people are gonna die because of this project, and we're the only ones who know about it." Zach then said "There are 196 satellites worldwide, and the 3 control satellites with the bubbles underneath are at the IATO Base, in Washington DC. Launch is in about nine hours. Once the control satellites are within Earth's Orbit, the Endgame begins. One million dead after the first day. And those numbers are gonna increase exponentially."

Nic spoke "So we need to find a way into the heavily guarded government facility, get into the bubbles on the bottom of the satellites, sabotage the control systems, and get out before they launch. I'm seriously hating these odds." Jay then interrupted and said "Hang on, where are the control satellites being launched?" The projections then showed a launch simulation, where Jay noticed a timing position with security becoming thinner. "Look! About ten minutes before the launch, IATO is gonna begin pulling security back to stay clear from the launch." Nat replied "That makes the final ten minutes before launch our best window to get in, sabotage the system, and get out." Zach then interrupted and said "I may be able to create a virus to compromise the targeting system to have the control satellites destroy each other." "So that's our plan for the time being." Jay said. Robert said "I don't quite think we're thinking this through. I mean, we go back to DC and somehow we stop Endgame before it launches. But what happens next? Do we live the rest of our lives on the run? Get put in Federal Prison? We're talking sabotaging a government funded project, that carries serious consequences. We're already neck deep in some serious shit, I don't think we can go any deeper." Jay then said "I may have a fix to this issue, but after we get to IATO we'll have to figure something out." That's when Zach made a pivotal statement. "All my life I thought I was doing what was right for the world. If I was made by IATO, and IATO is bad, does that mean I'm bad too?" Nicole comforted the seemingly emotionless android and replied "I think being made by IATO makes you special. You were built just to be a tool, but because of this you can finally take charge over your life instead of just being what everybody wants you to be." Jayson said "We've known for a while where you come from, but that never really mattered. You're still one of us." Nat then spoke "If it ever came down, and our lives were in your hands; I wouldn't worry. I trust you." Zachary felt a little bit better, but was still concerned that something might happen.

After laying out their plan, the Elites then piled into the minivan, and made their way back to Washington.