With the blaring of alarms, and red lights flashing throughout the room, a word can be seen being displayed by a computer terminal with large, flashing red letters.
"ERROR."
In fine text displayed below the flashing error notification, a short prompt gradually appears across the display, "System Error: Initialization failed. Malifunction detected in sector 6, isle B. Root block in progress."
Scrambling over to the computer system a man in a blue jumpsuit sits in a chair in front and picks up a radio headset, placing over his ears just before typing along his keyboard. A new prompt pops up on the terminal monitor as he types away frantically.
"EMERGENCY: Project Epsilon Ridge under outside influence. Contact system head administrations immediately. System's core cannot be reached."
Sending the prompt, the man rushes out of his chair just as a new prompt pops onto the screen. A sequence of dots appear as someone on the other end begins to make contact. White noise can suddenly be heard from the radio systems resting off to the side.
With the alarms and flashing lights gone, the wissing sounds of wind can be heard while everything remains quiet.
Now in a space with metal framed walls and dim lighting, weaving straps can be seen holding equipment. With a leather journal resting on a bench just to the side; we hear the chime of an intercom starting up.
"Mr. Blyke, your presence is needed in the cockpit. Please comply."
Walking in across the open space, a man wearing a tan flight suit picks up the journal and opens the shuttle door to the cockpit.
"What seems to be the problem?" the man asks, having entered the cockpit.
In the co-pilot seat, a man wearing heavy, ear protection muffs and goggles is seen working away at some controls.
"It's system control. We seem to have lost contact and none of the other channels are responding."
"'Lost contact?' That can't be." Shifting over to the pilot's seat, Blyke opens up a portable computer and begins navigating through the base systems, trying to find any error that may be cutting off their communications.
"What of our route? Are we still on track for a six-hundred hour arrival?"
A prompt opens on the screen as Blyke begins typing a message into the system.
"The air space is clear and our craft is on target. It shouldn't be much longer before we're in range with the next control tower," the co-pilot explains. "What about the cargo?"
"It'll last," Blyke answered reluctantly, "right now however, I believe our 'precious cargo' is the least of our concern."
There was a moment of silence from the co-pilot as he heard these words. It became obvious that there was indeed something amiss.
"Are you having any luck reaching control through the server?"
Blyke, the pilot of this aircraft, had been trying to access their emergency contacts through an encrypted server. After sending the message and getting no response, he pulled up another prompt which asked for a secret code. Opening his journal, he pulled out a small folder which contained post-its, and paperclips; things that a well organized folder would typically have. In this folder was an old polaroid photograph with a series of letters and numbers circled on the lower strip. Upon removing the paper clip from the polaroid and flipping it over, there was a list of names and numbers.
Having typed in the access code hidden in the polaroid's two sides, an error message appeared on the monitor, "Contact could not be reached."
Following the error message, another prompt popped onto the screen, "You have one unread message. Condition: URGENT"
"The shipment will have to wait; we've got trouble. Prepare to change coordinates!" Blyke commanded.
Two years had passed since the system breach had occured, and down on the planet's surface a world changing event was about to unfold.
Down below we can make out a large open roadway full of people passing along a crosswalk and a fenced in sports court tucked away beyond the sidewalk perimeters where teenagers of various heights can be seen. One of the boys got a little rough with another as he shoved the other one to the ground. Regardless, the other people on the court carried on with their game, and the rough teen walked off to join them. None of the pedestrians paid any mind to the happenings on the court as they continued about their lives.
Within the crowd of pedestrians, one young man with short brown hair was following the flow of foot traffic while staring down at his cellular device.
"Are you on your way here?"
"Yeah, I'll be there soon."
"Well hurry it up! You're going to be late."
"Yeah, yeah..."
After the young man turned off his screen, he slipped the device into his pocket. It was a bright, clear day and the sounds of the city were filling the air. Looking up beyond the crowd of people, the young man made his way across the crosswalk, beyond the steam house and shops that lined the street. He sighed briefly as he dreaded what was to come.
"This better be worth it," he complained.
There weren't many things that went on around a town like this. There was the steamhouse where people could relax, the theater, park and various shops to purchase daily essentials. Outside of that however, it was a quiet place to live.
On this particular day, however, a festival was about to take place. The streets and storefronts were decorated with red flags and banners, designer lights, and visitors from the surrounding areas were flooding the streets. Alice wasn't one for large gatherings. He preferred to keep to himself, not getting involved in group events nor clubs at his school. Initially, he would've wanted to spend the day at home, but him and his friend, Bryce, already had other plans.
While the towns folk and visiting tourists were busy getting ready for the festival ahead, there was strange works at play. In the middle of this currently vibrant town, there stood a single large tower that reached several stories high. The building was empty, still being in development, and was left vacant.
High up on top of the central tower, there was a man carrying various metal poles and scrap pieces, putting together something that, judging by the blueprints resting on a nearby workbench, resembled a sort of satellite tower.
"I have to hurry," he thought to himself, "I need to complete it on time. It's coming."
Quickly fastening the pieces together, he took a moment to look at the watch he wore on his wrist.
"Will I be able to finish it on time all by myself? No, I have to. I can't let this phenomenon slip through my fingers! Not after how far I've come, not after everything I've done!"
For this man, it was a race against time.
Back down on the ground, Alice had arrived at the scene him and his friend Bryce were to meet.
"It's about time you showed up," Bryce exclaimed with a smile across his face.
He was another young man standing just under six feet in height. He had blonde hair with short bangs that rested just above his eyes which were hazel in color. He wore marginally baggy clothing which he felt most comfortable in.
"Come on, the others are waiting inside."
The two boys had met up at what looked to be a charming home. It was a light blue in color with a white fence boardering a partial wrap around porch built with floor boards, large windows, and small decorative flower baskets on either side of the door.
Upon entering, two more individuals were sitting at a table inside; one of them rising from their seat.
"Looks like you made it after all," he said in a welcoming manner, "It's been a while."
"Too long," Alice responded with relief in his voice.
The two boys hugged, as it had been a while since they had last seen each other.
"It's good to see you again Ray," he stated warmly.
At that moment, Alice turned his attention to greet the other person in the room. He was waiting patiently, giving the two boys the moment they needed before speaking up.
"Hey Danny."
"Welcome," Dan responded as he sipped on some tea. "It seems you three are going to be quite busy catching up on things."
Dan was the owner of the house, who welcomed the company of Alice and Bryce from time to time, allowing them to use his place for celebrations and the sort. As a widowed man, he quite enjoyed the company of the two boys. While he was a bit older, the two boys still treated him like part of their group.
Ray was a graduate, having left town for a couple years following his graduation. Presently, he was two years older than the two boys, and they hadn't had much contact while he was away.
"We'll be catching up all right, and we've got all week to do it," Ray exclaimed proudly.
On one of the outskirts of a surrounding civilization, a convoy was making it's way towards the city.
"Alright men, we are closing in on the perimeters of where we last received the target's signal. When we get to the checkpoint, I want all of you to spread out and install the SZTs along the high points around the perimeter. Make sure they're not spotted and remember your training. Failure is not an option."
'SZTs' in this context refers to a series of rods strategically placed to amplify an organization's satellite tracking, otherwise standing for 'Scan Zone Transmitters.'
As the unmarked convoy had received its orders, it's formation had been disbursed, moving in to surround the broadly scaled area. There weren't many locals out and about, as they were either at work, or they were getting ready for the nearby festival that lied ahead. Throughout the surrounding cities that boardered the small town, flyers could be seen posted across businesses with details of their closings and the festival where many would soon gather.
The men that scattered throughout these cities wore semi-casual attire as to not alarm any potential witnesses, so they would think nothing of the people that were carrying out their task. All they had to do was make sure that no one noticed the strange objects they were transporting. Once planted, this would allow their unit to get a better read on their target's location.
Back at the house, the three boys were discussing tomorrow's big event, and how they could best spend their time together.
"So what do you think of the upcoming festival, do you guys want to check it out tomorrow?" Bryce asked.
"I don't know," Alice answered reluctantly, "It seems like all the surrounding townships will be there."
"But of course they will! This is the first time anyone has seen such a big event for the area, and hosted here of all places," Ray boldly exclaimed.
"But isn't that a bit much?" Alice complained.
"Look Alice, I know you don't like going to crowded events like this, but we're finally together again. After all this time, wouldn't you want to make the most of it? If you have any better suggestions, I'm all ears."
Ray was a more outgoing individual. After he graduated from the high school life, his family settled out in another state, where they opened their own shop, leaving Ray in charge of the hospitalities. When he wasn't tending to the shop, he would spend his time socialized with the locals and finding a way to remain busy. He was never one for sulking around in a room all day. Nevertheless, he bonded well with Bryce and Alice in his high school days, and he wanted to make sure they all had a fulfulling time together for each of them, even if that meant pushing the others a little ways out of their comfort zone.
"I wouldn't wrack your brain around too hard Alice. I think it may be best that we give this festival thing a chance. After all, I have to agree with Ray. We haven't seen eachother since his graduation," Bryce insisted.
With that, Alice realized his fate, he was not getting out of this one. As both guys were in agreement, he felt he had no choice but to agree. As such, he gave a reluctant nod. He wasn't going to let a major event hold him back.
"Great! Now that we're all in agreement, the festival!" Bryce exclaimed, he was thrilled, "Say Dan, will you be joining us there?"
Dan set his cup aside before giving his answer. "Actually, I'm going to be busy assisting in some last minute improvements with the events manager. I'm afraid I'll have to miss out this time."
"Well, no worries then. There'll be other opportunities for the four us to hang together," Bryce stated reassuringly.
"And when we do, perhaps somewhere less crowded," Alice added.
"Well, I'm off to bed. I've got an early start tomorrow," Dan explained.
Not wanting to overstay their welcome, the three boys said their farewells as they made their way back to the streets. By this time, the sun had started to make its way down the horizon.
In another part of this town, there stood a hospital, ten stories tall. It was the second tallest building in Oria, the name of this town. Within the threshold of Oria Hospital, many doctors and nurses were rushing about.
Thanks to the efforts of the event planners and everyone involved in making the festival possible, a large increase was brought into the hospital's budget. All the medical personnel were doing everything they could to make their patients as comfortable as possible. Amongst the nurses however, there was gossip, as word spread about a patient on one of the upper floors.
"Did you hear about the girl on the eighth floor?"
"Do you mean that sweet heart?"
"Yes that's the one. I heard her doctor say she only has about a week left."
"Oh the poor dear... She's so young. Her parents must be devastated."
"That's the worst bit, she doesn't have any parents. From what I've been told, they passed away on a business trip two years ago."
From there, high up on the eighth floor, there was a girl in a hospital gown tucked under the covers in a medical bed. She laid there unconscious and was sweating profusely. It was clear how uncomfortable she was by the wincing on her face. Her bed was positioned right next to a wide open window at the end of the room which was cracked open to let in a small breeze. This allowed the air to circulate in the room which helped to prevent patients from overheating.
Along the girl's side were various types of medical technology, which helped to track her pulse, temperature and gently regulated her fluids intravenously. The view from her window, showed off the clearing skies. It was a view that would be well enjoyed by someone, had they been awake to see it, as the sun was beginning to set. With that, our scene begins to fade.
A new day has arrived for Oria's townsfolk. It was the day of the town's Unity Festival. Appropriately named to attract citizens of its surrounding regions. All the people filling the populous were bustling about. The streets and markets were booming with an uproar of voices and laughter as the townfolk of Oria and its surrounding cities have flooded the town square.
Somewhere in the outskirts of Oria, away from the busy terrain, the three boys were gathered together under a roadside bridge. Alice, who was feeling anxious about the town's festival, could be seen with his back propped up against the lower bridge wall, throwing a ball back and forth with the wall ahead of him. Doing so helped him to relax in times like this, as the nerves throughout his body were feeling quite strained. Bryce was standing next to Alice, while Ray too was standing attentively close by.
"It would appear that Oria's become even busier than any of the townspeople could have anticipated," Ray noted enthusiastically, "Seems like the Unity Festival is going to be a huge hit after all."
"Yeah," Alice said hesitantly while dragging his voice.
"I've been hearing a lot of good things about it already," stated Bryce. "We should check out the different shops being held their. I hear some of our neighboring cities have set up some stalls as well. This should definitely boost the town's revenue."
"That would make sense," inserted Ray, "From what I'm hearing, Oria is looking to expand. I'd say it's about time."
"Don't remind me," Alice commented with a torn scowl, "I liked this place just the way it had been as we grew up."
"You can't avoid change forever Alice," Ray replied, "It's a part of our growth after all. Every day we're different people in one way or another. It's just natural."
Alice hummed to himself in annoyance.
"Well I don't like it."
"Come on guys, let's get going. Maybe while we're there, we'll run into Dan again," Bryce insisted, trying to give Alice some encouragement.
As Bryce and Ray turned to walk toward the festival, they paused as the sounds of footsteps behind them weren't yet heard. Ray turned back to see Alice was still leaning against the wall with the ball he had been tossing clutched in his hand.
"You coming or what?" Ray asked. With that, the boys were off.
A few hundred miles away from the festival, a plane could be spotted coming in for a landing at an air station. Several men and women were posted on the sidelines, standing attention. From within the station, a tall, sturdy man wearing a black suit and sunglasses could be seen walking out, carrying a black suitcase at his side.
Upon landing, the aircraft was powered down and a stairwell was rolled up to the side, where the cargo hold door had been opened. The units on the ground lined up on each side of the stairwell, standing at attention with the suited figure standing at the back of both lines.
Stepping out onto the staircase was a scruffy-looking man wearing a battered, tan flight suit, carrying a slightly worn, leather journal in hand. When he arrived at the bottom of the staircase, the black-suited man approached him.
"Welcome back Mr. Blyke," the suited man greeted.
"Good to be back," Blyke replied.
He looked as he did before, but with more facial hair to his appearance. It had been a while since his last mission, and a promotion was soon to take place.
"I hear a congratulations is to be in order. It would seem you have been doing quite well by the company. I've been told of your accomplishments," the suited man stated.
"I appreciate the commentary, but don't go congratulating me just yet; at least not until I've returned from the task at hand," Blyke insisted, "Please go ahead and fill me in on our current objective."
The suited man gave Blyke a nod, before turning back to escort him while updating him on current events.
"The men have surrounded the estimated area our target was last detected in, and their readings should be coming in any moment. As we're getting close, you will be driven to an outlook point, and from there, you will be lifted over to the target. We believe there's a high chance that things could get messy."
"And how are you going to cover that up if they do?" Blyke asked reluctantly.
He didn't want to be involved in anything serious, as he never was one for violence. His job up to this point only involved pickup and delivery, going great distances and taking great risks for the good of his company, but this time he was tasked with retrieving an item that wouldn't easily be surrendered; believed to be in possession by someone who has long been evading them.
"We already have preparations in place. Don't you worry about that," the suited man answered, dodging the question.
The two men made their way into a hanger where a few large, ground vehicles were ready to mobilize. Reaching one of the vehicles, the suited man handed the suitcase off to Blyke.
"You'll be needing this, just in case," he stated.
Blyke peaked inside the case, seeing it contained a few different items each nestled inside specially molded foam to keep them neat and organized within the case. Inside were state of the art equipment, such as a tool belt, a grapple gun, an injectable tranquilizer and some other utilities Blyke had no desire to carry. Regardless of the materials inside, he accepted the case and climbed on board. Now he was ready for the task ahead.
"Good luck Captain," the suit gave in farewell.
Upon reaching the entrance for the Unity festival, Alice, Bryce and Ray were greeted by a firmiliar face.
"Well if it isn't my three favorite boys!" the young looking woman greeted. "It's a surprise to see you all here together," she remarked with a large smile.
"Miss Robins!" Bryce exclaimed in surprise.
Stephanie Robins was a pleasant woman who taught the boys while they were each in school, assisting in different classes across the board.
To her surprise, Ray, whom she hadn't seen since his graduation, was present, and seeing Alice out and about with his friends made her quite thrilled for their group.
"It's good to see each of you again."
"Good day Miss Robins!" Ray greeted back. "It's quite the surprise to be seeing you here as well. Are you also here for the festival?"
"Actually, I just came by as a favor to someone on the comitee. I had just finished up with everything here and was about to leave for the evening," she explained.
Before Miss Robins and the boys got too reacquainted, another young man rushed over through the crowd of people who were beyond the entrance.
"Miss Robins!"
Stopping just in front of the others, the young man carried out a gift basket that was full of bread. The boys were puzzled.
"My mother forgot to hand you this. She wanted to thank you for all your help earlier," he said in an upbeat tone.
"Why thank you Sadie. Please tell Missus Brooks of my appreciation. You didn't have to go this far for me," she replied modestly.
"She insists," Sadie reassured her.
"Well thank you. That's quite nice," she exclaimed while accepting the basket.
Right at that moment a beeping could be heard coming from Miss Robins' pocket. She reached down and examined her pager.
"My, it seems I really must be going. I've still got much to do."
Looking back up to the young man, she adjusted the basket handle over her inner elbow.
"Sadie dear, these are some of my older students. Perhaps you could show them where the shops are," she asked of him kindly.
Turning her attention back to the boys she curtsied, biding farewell.
"You take care now Alice."
Once Alice gave a nod, Miss Robins went her merry way.
"So you guys are here for the festival? Come on, I'll show you around."
Sadie was an energetic young lad, not much younger than the other boys and belonged to the same school that Bryce and Alice were still attending.
It was clear to say the four boys didn't all know each other before now, but they carried on making their way into the festival grounds together. The lot of them had a pleasant time browsing through the food court and information desks, but when they arrived outside the shops, an unpleasant figure was zeroed out amongst the crowd. Quickly, Sadie seeing him, darted out behind one of the stalls.
"Well, well, well. If it isn't the alphabet crew," the stocky figure said, marching out in front of the boys.
Ray snarked at the comment. Him and his friends knew this person very well, or well enough, and they didn't like him one bit.
"Cut it out with that hot garbage Vladimire!" Ray shouted back, "that joke has never been funny!"
Vladimire grabbed Ray up by his collar.
"And what are you going to do about it C section?" Vlad spat out aggressively.
Ray threw his hands down over Vlad's grip, releasing him from his grasp, though ripping through Ray's shirt slightly. Taking a step back, Ray was very clearly upset, and at this very moment Alice's eyes fell to the ground. He had hoped Vladimire would leave him out of his squabble, but there was no such luck as Vladimire noticed the negated attention. He stepped forward and gave Alice a shove.
"Hey freak, you think you can ignore me?"
Before Ray could get further involved, Bryce stepped forward and shoved Vladimire by the arm.
"Leave him alone! Are you really going to start your crap here?" Bryce snapped back.
Ray was fuming while Alice was shaking in his boots.
Vlad stepped forward again, giving a rhythmic nod.
"You know what? Yeah. I think I am."
He grabbed Bryce by the arm, throwing his posture over and twisting his arm behind his back.
Ray has had enough.
Lunging at Vlad, Vlad lifted up his leg and planted his foot into Ray's stomache, shoving him to the ground.
"Stop!" Alice cried, darting forward after Bryce.
Before Alice could interviene though, Vladimire swung out, burying his fist into Alice's face. The punch threw Alice off balance, causing him to double back.
The eyes of the people were all on the small group now. Some of them broke away from the crowd, not wanting to get involved.
"I didn't think I'd get to see all three of you losers together again after all this time, but I guess lady luck is on my side after all," Vlad sneared, straining Bryce's arm.
"Not enough for you to graduate for a change apparently," Bryce shouted, gritting through his teeth.
Vladimire snarled at this remark, shoving his foot into the back of Bryce's knee, planting it on the ground and adjusting his grip around Bryce's hand, twisting him by the wrist. Bryce shouted out in pain, feeling as if his wrist and shoulder were about to break.
"Damn you Vladimire!" Ray called out.
He seemlessly lifted himself off the ground and threw himself at Vladimire, huffing in frustration. Vlad released Bryce and braced himself for Ray's charge. He quickly grappled Ray and kicked out his footing by the shin, using Ray's force to throw him back to the ground. Holding his hand over his face, Alice regained his balance, while Bryce regrouped by his side, holding his shoulder, wincing in pain.
Something caught Alice's attention for a moment in the late afternoon sky, as a chopper could be seen flying over in the distance.
"What is that?" Alice asked abruptly.
Bryce fled his eyes to where Alice was looking.
"That's weird," he commented, taken aback by the unusual population of airspace.
Vladimire stood his ground, turning his back on Ray and looking to the two boys while wearing a meticulous grin.
"Just what are you two idiots looking at? Come on, I'm just starting to have some fun," he claimed, trying to taunt them further.
Some of the crowd members too looked in the direction of the chopper flying overhead. At this point, bickering had started amongst them.
Back on the central building, the rushed individual had finished his satellite tower, which had extra circuits and wires throughout. He stood along the top of it, and removed a small box from his jacket pocket. Sliding the lid open, what appeared to be some type of computer chip could be seen inside, with a tiny crystal embedded in the center.
He removed the chip and proceeded to fit it into a slot that was behind a sort of magnifying scope installed where the feed horn would have been. Having done so, he gazed over the stretch of sky that was along the structure's path. When climbing down from the tower, he rushed over to his work station where he had set up a surveillance monitor, and began typing away on a laptop that he had connected to the tower. By this point it wasn't long before he froze, as he could now hear the beats of an aircraft closing in. A panted sigh left his lips.
In a moment, Vladimire began to stomp his way towards the two boys.
"Hey! Pay atten—" His demand was interrupted as Ray's fist blasted across his face.
Sadie peaked around the corner, trying to get a glance at the commotion. It didn't take long for him too to notice everyone's eyes took to the sky. The moment he saw the chopper nearing the central tower, and before the other boys could react any further, gunshots were suddenly heard in the distance, causing everyone in the area to jump as the collected sounds of screaming began flooding in.
Vladimire, Ray, Bryce and Alice all turned around to see a larger crowd of people were running their way. Everyone else around them seeing this, soon scattered. Vlad split off from the group, and ran off along the side, while right after, the three boys braced to retreat.
"Sadie! Come on!" Ray wasn't going to leave him behind.
Grabbing ahold of Sadie, Ray and the others took off, making their way deeper into the shopping district as large vehicles soon revved in behind them, smashing into the stalls. The roaring sounds of gunfire and blood curdling screams ending abruptly raged near. No one was ready for what was coming.
As the chopper closed in and dusk began to fall, the man on top of the tower only had one word on his mind.
"Soon."