Spring Upon the Solstice

X - Raise a Glass to Rebellion

{ 001 }

"Yu, are you ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be. You have the keycard?"

I tap the comlink once, making sure to keep the channel active. Seeing as I stole this from the guard tower in the prison ward, it won't be long before they notice it's gone missing—and that it's currently in use. Until Yumei builds us a personal set, we're gonna have to rely on these crappy things.

"Klaus, you better be right, or I'll have your head. If I find twenty soldiers right around that corner—"

"—Ma chere, do I ever disappoint?"

"Well, yes, on multiple occasions, you have certainly not held up to expectation," I remark. "I'm assuming today is the exception?"

"Exactement."

Footsteps echo down the hall, and I cut the chatter, only pausing to whisper, "Alright, well, wish me luck."

I fly past the hallways, dancing in tune with the silence. The base seems to hold its breath in, quiet and tense, while the lights buzz overhead and the guards patrol the corridors. It lacks the life of a community; its oppressive rows of iron-columned walls drown out any semblance of hope and the faces behind them. HERALD doesn't even issue the orange jumpsuits anymore, so all these captive people are just civilians in sheep's clothing—the clothing of Big Brother's monotone uniforms.

"Cut the surveillance feed." I wait a few moments before stepping into the main channel of the prison block. Like a charm, the crimson recording lights drain from the cameras. Yumei is a god at all of this hacking stuff, probably because she was Namakemono's protege for years. Her talent goes unparalleled among the many communications officers and wiretapping specialists; if I had to thank that four-eyed witch for anything, it would be the ruthless training she instilled into my best friend.

"You'll only get a few minutes to go in," the girl reminds me. "Soru will warn us once the system cycles, and the subroutine singles out this camera."

"Yeah, yeah. A few minutes is all I need."

I approach the maximum security cell, which sports yellow-and-black bumblebee markings across the doors to indicate the heavy-duty hydraulics securing them.

"Here goes nothing."

I cross my fingers and swipe a keycard through the scanner reticle next to the door. The silent alarm stays quiet.

"Nice work, Yu," I hiss under my breath, pushing inwards on the slab of metal with all the strength in my arms.

The stench hits me first. You'd think a person died here three days ago, given how it stagnates in the air like a thick, stubborn fog. Unfortunately, I can't tell through this pervasive darkness if someone actually died. It dawns on me that when the base goes into nighttime mode, the cells' power turns off. AC, general ventilation, and lighting—gone just like that.

"Hello?" I call through the void, just loud enough to be heard on the other end.

Somebody shuffles, though they don't reply with anything back.

"Jhiro?" I press forward, venturing one foot into the cell.

Abruptly, movement flashes past my eyes through the abyss. "How do you know that name?"

A guy speaks up, though his voice walks on a razor's edge. No confidence, no pride. No integrity, either. Definitely not Jhiro. I get the feeling that he isn't so much a shining knight as he is an opportunist thief. However, listening to his words, the difference between the two seems trivial for him.