IC- Signs of the Underground

[arcanus]

Lake Michigan - January 2059
They sailed north east, it was early January, temperatures had dropped to below zero, snow lay upon the shorelines and ice enshrouded buildings and trees.

As the boats chugged on Hades watched as they passed the containment walls of Bug City on the shore, he breathed out a deep sigh of relief, no one in the CZ expected to live to see another sunrise yet they had made it, finally. He squeezed Lilly’s hand, she smiled both watched the landscape slip past in silence, as the vessels sailed on.
*****
It was several weeks before the Signs Refugees were cleared to re-enter the world, numerous tests, injections of organic insecticides, scans before they were cleared to return to civilisation.
*****
Summer 2059
Hades blinked the glare of the early morning sun from his vision, he ignored Ty’s grumbling and smiled at Lilly, the helicopter banked east the city of Chicago appearing before them.

He took a deep breath, this was lunacy, he replayed the meeting in Detroit the day prior.

They had met in the Adelphi Hotel, Downtown Detroit after driving under the Eerie from Windsor via the Detroit-Canada Tunnel.
Their contact had been a stern UCAS Ranger Major Sturell, Ty had insisted on coming to quote ‘Keep Hade’s from doing something fucking stupid. Lilly well he didn’t make decisions without her.

Sturell had given them the brief, Major General Henderson wanted them back in, he was back in the chair, big things were afoot in the CZ and he needed them for an op.
Lilly had looked chest fallen, Ty swore and then repeated ‘I fucking knew it, I fucking Knew it’
Hades and been silent, on one hand he’d served his time, they’d fought tooth and nail for nigh on four years, sweated blood and seen more of their own and innocents killed than anything of them could count.

There wasn’t a day or night that passed when they didn’t feel that wrenching sense of guilt that they couldn’t have saved more, but didn’t they deserve a break, some time off for good behaviour.

Ty had composed himself ‘Who’s the mark’ he’d said, Surrel’s reply was that their was a group of refugees that Henderson wanted protected, one in particular a kid, but all them, the thing the Sign’s were good at.
Hades had mentally scoffed, ‘The Sign’s’ they hadn’t been called that in months and his mind was all but made up, until Surrell twisted the knife.

She’d looked straight at him, hard eyes locking with his ‘Its Curren, he needs your help Hades, his people need your help’ to which had buried his head in his hands and simply said ‘Fuck’

*****
The chopper swung in negotiating the Windy Cities updrafts before settling down on the roof of the skyscraper, one of many abandoned by their tenants in 55, how the base of operations of the good old UCAS military.
Major Surrel was waiting for them on the rooftop, the three of them squinted as the rotors were kicking up clouds of dust and spray, below them the CZ perimeter wall extended in each direction, Hade’s noticed that the piles of rubble were now covered in vines and foliage, vegetation that appeared to move.

Storm clouds roiled above the entire CZ, they could almost taste the ozone, looking skyward the UCAS’s ariel command centres had also changed, the command ship called Avian I had been retrofitted into a large circular disc, four struts projected from the central hull ending in pods.
Both Beggs and Hades looked at each other quizzically, from a scientists perspective neither could tell how the craft having grown to such a size remained aloft.

Ty patted Mac on the shoulder a problem for another day, the trio followed Sturrel as she exited the roof.

[Keeper]

Ok so Henderson has played the Curren card, but what other motivation is there for me to let my girlfriend and me be dragged back into that hell hole? Promise of recompense and a fuck load of support this time?
Hades will have made sure that all involved are quite aware that we are private citizens, not military so ordering us around won’t work!

[arcanus]

Ok so Henderson has played the Curren card, but what other motivation is there for me to let my girlfriend and me be dragged back into that hell hole? Promise of recompense and a fuck load of support this time?
Hades will have made sure that all involved are quite aware that we are private citizens, not military so ordering us around won’t work!

He has indeed, he's offered a no questions asked funding to finish Hades & Ty's degrees as well as all existing student debts having already been paid off, Medium lifestyle house UCAS city of your choice, mortgage paid in full for Lilly and you, apartment for Ty (same terms).
Weapons, armour, medkit and urgent supplies & ammo for Curren's people.

[arcanus]

After an initial orientation the trio were shown to their rooms, at 60 stories the Edison Futures skyscraper had been one of the multitude of corporate towers dotting the core.

Edisons suits had bailed as soon as man-sized wasps and flies had started flittering around the skyline, these days its bottom 30 floors were now hollowed out comms rooms, milspec officer meeting rooms, storage facilities and garages.

The top floors hangers, observation decks and hotel like guest rooms, Lilly and Mac looked around at a suite that wouldn't have been out of place in a 5 star hotel.
The trio dined together that evening, there was little chat each still pondering whether the offer was worth the risk, Surrell had assured them once they were done then were out, no question, but is was the CZ, a hellhole.

Mentally tired, Ty turned in for the night leaving Mac and Lilly to watch the Trid, after an hour or so Mac heard Lillys little snores from where she lay curled up at the end of the bed.

<"Mac, don't speak out loud!">
Mac tensed, looking around a little warily the room as quiet, the voice seemed to be in his head
<"My names Colonel Cook, I'm General Henderson's XO, he's sorry he can't talk in person.
Reassuming command of the CZ is, well, a little, chaotic & he can't communicate mentally without tech">
<"I'm fairly sure you've got some serious reservations and I don't blame you, this is strictly between the three of us, there is another reason why he needs you to go in">
<"In the bureau in the living room, second drawer down, its coded to your biometrics, there's a black box on the left, open it, you'll see what to do">

[Keeper]

Hades let out a heavy sigh, his thoughts paraphrasing Ty’s earlier statement, “I fuckin’ knew it!”
He glanced at Lilly as she lay on the bed, still fast asleep, and sighed again.
Despite his insistence that she not come she had categorically refused to stay behind.
It was a foolish thing they’d done, when you looked at it in the cold light of day. They should have counted themselves as the lucky ones and been grateful to have gotten clear of Chicago, they certainly shouldn’t have agreed to go back in.
But Hades had felt there was some other reason for coming back, like destiny, or something? Not that he believed in that shit really, but he had nothing else to reasonably explain why he felt he should. Yes, okay, there was the fact that Curren had remained behind to help when the rest of the Sign’s so called leadership had bailed on them, and that kind of held some sort of sway with the orc, but the man had still chosen to exclude the remaining Signs from whatever his plans had been.
Perhaps whatever Henderson had stashed away in the room would hold some sort of explanation? Provide some hint at why Hades felt compelled to return.
Maybe not.

Quietly he swung his legs off the bed and went to find this mysterious package, so far not having directly responded to the Colonel in any way.

[arcanus]

Touching his hand to the drawer front Mac heard a faint click and it slid open.

As promised to the left of the drawer was a small black box, opening it revealed a pair of contact lenses, a small fob and a throat Mike.

[Keeper]

With a grimace Hades made his way to the bathroom.
He hated putting things near his eyes and would need the mirror to put the contacts in.
It took him a few minutes to get the fiddly things in place. When they were in he donned the throat mic, blinked a few times and staring at his reflection in the mirror suddenly thought about shaving.
Then his brain caught up with him. Shaving would be bad. Not many folks in the Zone got to shave, most just trimming with scissors. He’d stand out a mile with a smooth face in there.
Bringing his thoughts back to the present he pressed the fob.

[arcanus]

Hades blinked as simsense imagery flooded his vision, although he could see the outline of the bathroom in the periphery of his sight another room reminiscent of an interview room overlaid.

Stood next to a large viewscreen was Major General Karl Henderson, the wardog himself
"Hello Mac, longtime no see!" not waiting for Hades response he continued
"I'm sort of here & I'm not, what your talking to is an advanced knowbot semi-AI, its a digital imprint of my thought processes, knowledge and responses"

"So why the cloak & dagger, well we're the UCAS military so its part & parcel, basically tradition but sardonic humour aside, you know the deal even with the ranks there are only a few people I can truly trust, Cooks one of them we go back a long way, and you're another"

Henderson paused "Currens important, I'm told most awakened can't break the Metaplanar Barrier, but he can, however he can look after himself, he's your cover story"

"There's a kid Mac, he's in St Nowhere Hospital, as you know during the election the politicos blocked most bug hunts, said I'd been scare mongering, that the big push by the bugs hadn't happened, had me pushing pencils in DC"
Henderson scowled

"Fools" he paced around the room, his arms folded behind his back

"Never occurred to them the bugs like scurrying around in dark places, that they'd make thir move out of sight!"
"The bugs are making a play, we're not sure what or how, apart from their new hidden hive but this kids part of their plan, what we do know is the kids got pretty unusual magical talent, according to our sources in Nowhere and he's only 6"

"I need you to start at the ruined elf enclave at Lincoln Park, find a seer who's holed up there called Castiel, get to Curren and deliver supplies and a package as he's mixed up in this as well, Castiel will lead you to the kid between you we need the kid out of the bugs reach"

Henderson fell silent watching Mac for a reaction, satisfied it had sunk in he continued

"Your cover is your going in to deliver supplies to Curren and help at Whigley Dome, outside Cook and myself no one knows about the kid!"

[Keeper]

“Well, what the fuck am I supposed to say to that?” Hades subvocalised. “Never mind, that wasn’t really a question.”
He rubbed his face, pressing at his temples, not because of a headache or tiredness but to give himself a moment to think.
“Alright then, I suppose you’d better give me all the details like where I’m taking him, how we keep in touch, secret handshakes all that crap you soldier boys like to have in place.”
Hades listened to the image respond to his questions amazed at how responsive and emotive it was considering it wasn’t really Henderson and was just an AI facsimile of the general.
When he’d no more left to ask he took the mike off, the contacts out, placed them and the fob back where they had come from and wandered back to the bedroom.
Lily raised her head and gave him a tired smile.
He picked her up, placing her on the bed properly, head on the pillow and pulled the duvet up over her. She was asleep again by the time he climbed into bed beside her.

[arcanus]

As Hades logged out he noted a series of numbers which he quickly concluded were coordinates.

It was a simple job to look them up and identify them as being the roof of the skyraker they were currently in.