Part I: The Raven | Chapter 5: Operation Aries

"Alright, let's go over the mission one last time."

"Seriously? I though we had gone over it already! We don't need any more debriefings." Protested Amir. "Besides, these Ironsyde guys and their little "Gray League" don't even have any psions. We'd might as well barge in there with the entire group and wipe them out." 

"Enough!" said Victoria. "I'm not sending you there to kill and massacre them." She paused. "Now, step by step, and then you'll be on your way." Amir rolled his eyes, and crossed his arms. 

"You three, Amir, Kyllian and Lily. Your job is to penetrate deep inside the Grey League's territory, I hope you at least got that." Lily and I nodded. "That alone will be the hardest part, since the Ironsydes have doubled their security measures since the start of the war. That's where you come in, Amir." He still didn't give a damn about what she was saying. His arrogance cried out volumes in the otherwise silent debriefing room. Victoria noticed this, but just suppressed whatever kind of heinous punishment she had in mind, most likely to dish it out for after our mission was over.

"Your role will be to cloud the mind of any guard inquiring as to why you're not on the front lines. Oh, and you'll be wearing those, as well." She pointed to a set of military uniforms, and Lily frowned. "Don't worry, there's one fit for your size." She seemed reassured, but didn't say a word. "Once you're behind enemy lines, a small tunnel positioned here" she pointed on the map behind her. "should lead you inside of Fort Michael. This is you main mission objective. Once there, you'll have to find their oil pump and hack its entrance, which is why you're going on this mission, Lily. Kyllian will then burn out the reserve using his powers, all the whilst controlling the flame as to not make the damn thing explode and alert all the guards. You are all aware that this pump is the single thing feeding the Grey League's war machine. Their trains, APCs, and everything in between is fueled by this singular pump."

"Which is why they built an entire fort around it, I presume?"

"Correct, Kyllian. After that, you will simply come back from where you came from, and report back to base. Got it?" 

"What equipment are we getting?" asked Lily. 

"Other than the uniform, nothing, since you won't need much. Except a pistol for you Lily, since your abilities aren't really suited for combat."

"Right."

"Other than that, you're all clear. Good luck out there, you'll need it." 

A few moments later, we found ourselves walking out of the city in the middle of the night during curfew, towards an adjacent tunnel to that of the front line that had remained relatively untouched because of its strategic insignificance, as the ground we treaded on turned from marble to rock. Once there, we changed into our enemies clothes, and continued marching discreetly. We ended up at the gates of an Ironsyde outpost. 

"Identify yourselves." the guard spoke loud and clear, with a deep voice. He, along with his fellow comrades, were clad in metal armor, a distinctive detail unique to the Grey League's military. 

"We were sent on a reconnaissance mission to New Rome, and are coming with intel."

The guard raised an eyebrow. "Intel? Shouldn't young soldiers like you be on the frontlines? Who sent you on that mission?"

"Commander Boyle did."

"Who's that supposed to-" the guard suddenly twitched, and his voice turned robotic. "Yes. Commander Boyle's orders. Proceed." He opened the gate for us, and though the guards around us were still suspicious, they said nothing. We continued walking until the caves got dark again, signalling that we were far from anyone, but still in their territory.

"Way to go, Amir. Could have used your powers a bit sooner, you almost blew our cover."

"Sure then, I'll let you try to break into their minds. Oh wait. You can't. Maybe you should criticize that which you understand." 

"Enough, you two!" Lily had finally raised her voice, which was rare. I turned to her. She had long black hair, and small, round glasses that hid small, brown eyes. "Let's just focus on the mission. Once we're done, you can fight and bicker all you want. There's the tunnel." She pointed towards it. At first it looked like it was just a random hole in the ground, so we entered it. We found ourselves at the edge of a cliff that faced a dark void. I decided it wasn't worth it to look down, so I hugged the wall and so did the others. Towards the end of the ledge, the floor got larger, leading us to where the hole leading to the inside of Fort Michael was. 

We stayed there, and looked out the child-sized hole to have a good look at what we were facing up against. The fort was compact, and used the cave's wall to shield half of its perimeter, and used a stone wall for the rest, complete with guard towers. We could see the oil pump at the other side of base. We started discussing possible routes to get there. Amir and I started debating as usual, but Lily came up with a synthesis of our two plans. I got out through the hole, with the two others following suite. 

It was the first time I had ever penetrated inside of an Ironsyde base. They had no feeling of architecture, though I chalked it up to it stemming from the fact that this was a military base. Still, there was an absolute lack of color, both in the buildings and the people. Though they were sharp, they were grey, emotionless, just like their flag: a black double-headed eagle on a grey background. I had only ever heard of the Ironsydes and their infamous Grey League, a council of ten Generals who lead the Ironsyde army, since the beginning of their declaration of war against us. These thoughts were quickly cut by Amir pulling my arm before people noticed an out of place soldier, something they didn't appreciate seeing apparently.

We sneaked into their empty barracks, and stole IDs and dog tags that didn't have any photos on them, in order to seem more legitimate to any officers that were to intercept us. We then headed out, our next destination being their communications building, which was Lily's idea. The plan was to try and disrupt all communications to and from Fort Michael, as well as surrounding bases, including the ones who used this fort as a relay station, effectively destroying a part of their logistical network. Another use of this was to prevent reinforcements from coming in case we were discovered. 

Lily got to work as soon as we entered. She had told us hacking their mainframe would be easy work. She took more and more time to break her way into their mainframe, even though she knew the man responsible for this station would come in at some point. "Five minutes" became "Five more minutes", eventually leading us to stay there for a whole twenty minutes. The man who we presumed to be the station's technician entered the room, having visibly taken a break from his work. It took some time for him to realize we were even in the room. He definitely looked different from the other soldiers, having a coffee cup in hand and a unbuttoned uniform. 

"Woah, dude." Even his tone was out of place. "What are you even, like, doing here?" 

I was about to talk when Amir proved himself to be faster. "We are here from Technical Station Alpha to resolve an issue that seems to have propped up from your relay. Our coworker here, er, Lizzie, is looking into the problem."

"Huh. Might have dropped some of my morning latte somewhere on the keyboard." He chuckled, and so did I. "Mind if I, uh, take a look?" Amir looked at Lily, who remained completely focused on her task. 

"Sure, I guess?" 

The man sat beside Lily, and commented how fast she was at decoding their encryption, not even realizing that she was essentially hacking them, though by his tone, I honestly didn't think he'd car. He even commented how she was able to input so fast she didn't "even need her mouse or keyboard, bro." It was only once she started cutting all relays and locked the entire system with a virus she installed that the technician reacted.

"Uh. I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to like, do that. Wait, you just locked everyone out of the system!" He yawned. "You're not a technician! I should... call..." He closed his eyes. "...security..." His head then dropped on the desk, as if he was sleeping on the job. 

"Just your friendly neighborhood mind-bender. Time to get going." 

We all got up and walked outside. The soldiers kept acting as if nothing happened, though the officers were obviously sensing that something was off. We hurried towards the oil pump's heavy duty blast door, which we imagined was made to keep intruders out and any kind of accident in. Contrary to what had happened earlier, Lily quickly hacked the lockpad's code. I stepped inside, with the two others standing guard in case anyone were to try and disrupt the operation. 

"Be quick, alright?" Amir then shut the door, leaving me to do my duty. 

I was faced with a huge machine, pumping away at the black gold that was situated beneath it, with the room itself having been built inside of the rock. I located the reservoir, and climbed a ladder leading to the top. I opened the lid, and the strong odor of petroleum, one which I was not familiar with, invaded my nostrils. I them proceeded to throw a small spark of fire towards it, and proceeded towards the slow burning of the substance.

However, something didn't go as planned. Having to control this much fire against its will to consume this much substance felt immediately tiring. A side effect, however, one that the scientists back home had warned me about, had taken place. "Elemental Psychosis", was the term one of the boffins used to describe how my emotions, and even my entire mental state could end up being taken over by whatever element I was using too much of. None of them knew the full extent of it, however, though I was about to find out. 

As I was battling against the psychosis, one which threatened me to fall entirely to the fire's will, I heard my friends argue with officers outside. This was the straw that broke the camel's back, as my nerves instantly became engulfed in the kind of pain that comes from burning oneself. I also became half unconscious, though I could still see what my body was doing. I started levitating, and the flames I tried so hard to control bursted out of their confinement and started encircling me. I commanded them. I proceeded to completely melt the pump itself, as well as the now-puny door I was kept inside of. I arrived to see Lily and Amir still arguing with multiple officers and soldiers, though they all turned back towards me the moment I presented myself. As my allies were walking back, the Ironsyde soldiers shot at me, but it was futile. Their bullets melted, and I sent them back towards my enemies, the enemies of New Rome, like a rain of molten droplets of metal. My mind became foggier and foggier, as my brutal acts weren't even acts of my own anymore. I passed out.

When I woke up, I was laying down comfortably in a white hospital bed, with marble walls behind and in front of me, stairs leading down on my left, and a view of New Rome to my right. My body ached everywhere in my muscles, though most of all I felt tired. I laid my head back again, and to sleep. 

I woke up to Victoria standing over me with a nurse. 

"He's alright, his condition is stable. I'll let you two have a chat, alright? Then we'll run some diagnostics." The nurse left the room, leaving Victoria with me. 

"My little Kyllian. How are you feeling?" 

"Fine, I suppose. I think the Elemental Psychosis those weird doctors were talking about finally got to me."

"It would seem like it. But... guess what! We won the war! All thanks to how much manpower the Grey League spent trying to try and pacify you. In the end they signed a peace treaty just about when your body gave up because of the effort produced to sustain such a form." She took my hand. "I'm so proud of you, and so is the rest of the team. Even Amir, though he won't admit it." She laughed, and so did I, though it proved extremely painful as my throat felt like it was on fire. "I'll let you rest for now, you've earned it little champ." She walked out of the room, and left me alone in the dark as she turned off the lights. I laid my head back down, and went right back to sleep.