First Mission

Yaruba

Volume 1: At the Heart of Change

Prologue

June 12, 2134, Neutral Territory

"And this one, what about him? "Albert asked for the umpteenth time since the beginning of the day, a photograph in his hand. He was standing in front of a dilapidated table, covered with photographs of individuals of all kinds. The dim light was barely enough for him to get an idea of the pictures he was examining.

"Maïr Yaruba, chief. Last survivor of his ethnic group. All of his relatives were exterminated by Hyperion almost a year ago today, for reasons that remain unclear. "Xi Yun, who as usual was sitting with her feet up on the table, answered. Today, she had decided to put aside the dark jeans and had opted for a traditional red and yellow dress, matching well with her athletic figure.

Albert raised an eyebrow, a questioning look in his eyes. "Are we into charity now? "

"Charity? It is true that it would not hurt you. "She answered. "Several sources have told me that for the past six months he has been short-circuiting the Millians' raw material shipments. Apparently, he's already had six of them, and the enemy has put several devices in place to apprehend him. "

"Six shipments without any outside help? Interesting. " Albert re-examined the photograph he held in one hand, stroking his chin with another. "Maïr Yaruba, huh? " the photograph depicted a young, slender, black man in his early twenties. He had ordinary features, nothing that made him stand out, apart from a protruding jaw. What struck Albert was the expression on his face. A cocktail of naivety and benevolence.

"Are you sure it's him in the picture?

"Affirmative! Although it's two years old, my informants are 100% reliable. "

There were many times when Xi spoke like the military in the past when she addressed him. To this day, he was unable to determine if she was serious or just making fun of him, though the teasing glint he sometimes saw in her eyes gave him a little idea.

"Well, this one interests me. Give me a rundown on what you know about him. "

"Roger that. "

... No doubt about it. She was making fun of him.

October 9, 2134, Hyperion Territory

"I have a visual. Franco, do you confirm? "

"It's definitely him, although he looks to me like he's been eating Titan food since his last photo shoot. " replied Franco, observing the street through the sight of his sniper rifle. His ever-present air of mockery made him look like he was about to crack a joke in poor taste, which, as was often the case, only he would laugh at. His all-black sniper's uniform made it hard to see him unless one was looking specifically in his direction.

"Good. Don't let him out of your sight, he looks like he's up to something," Albert replied. "Xi Yun, stand by to intervene. "

Albert placed his binoculars on a windowsill. He and his team had been searching for the individual for days, and after many hours of watching, they had finally spotted him. Franco was right. Between the photograph he had seen four months earlier and the young man who was now walking down the street, it seemed like an eternity had passed. The naivety and benevolence had given way to other, less angelic expressions. On Maïr's face, Albert could now catch a glimpse of what looked like hate. Hatred, and... what else? Was it despair? Was it guilt? The young man seemed tormented, and Albert didn't need to know all the details of what he had gone through to understand that it had left him with more than one trauma.

Maïr was coming to the end of the street, and they would soon lose track of him.

"We're about to lose him. Change of location. " he ordered his team. They were in the apartment of an abandoned building, whose walls had been shattered by the war, as had most of the neighborhood in which they were located.

Kefil, wearing a black leather jacket that accentuated his imposing build, was still looking down the street through his binoculars. He frowned.

"He's heading for Hyperion's field, it's bad news guys. " he declared in a deep voice, articulating each syllable in a cadenced tone.

"Hyperion? "Albert asked, not believing his ears. Little by little, he began to make the connection. "The Hyperion? "

"Himself. " replied Xi Yun, who was also watching the street through the window.

Hyperion had been the first Titan to set foot on Earth, more than a century before. He was one of the few Cosmic Rank Titans, according to their hierarchical system. Xi Yun had spent the last ten years of her life studying the Titans, their way of life and their codes. At a time when sources of information were systematically destroyed by them, her knowledge was worth its weight in gold. Maïr had a grudge against Hyperion, the latter being at the origin of the massacre of his people.

"I understand that Maïr is angry with him," she continued. "But to go to his territory... I don't understand what he intends to do there. Any idea? "

Hyperion.

Albert couldn't believe it. He had considered many scenarios, but this one he clearly didn't see coming.

Who would be foolish enough to deliberately go into the territory of the most powerful Titan ever to walk the Earth?

"He's got a good pair, the kid! Attacking the residence of the Supreme Titan alone, armed with two fists and a snarling face. I think we have our savior here, don't you think? "Franco intervened. "Who knows, maybe he'll succeed and take down that Hyperion. Imagine the headlines on the laser transmitters: The invaders, who had made short work of our world powers, routed by a young man - the last survivor of his ethnic group, no less! -armed with both fists! I sign-"

"Shut up, Franco. " interrupted Albert. "We have to move fast. If he's really planning to act against Hyperion, he's got guts. Or he's totally insane, we'll soon find out. Kefil, you know the place well, we're following you. "

The latter nodded, his face serious. His black skin, marked by several scars, gave him a permanently dangerous look. He had indeed spent his childhood in the area, but every time Albert had tried to find out more, Kefil had cut the conversation short. In fact, Albert had never been too insistent; if there was one person who was not willing to talk about his past, it was him. Both he and Kefil were aware of this, and they were comfortable with the way things were.

They finished packing up their few possessions and left the dilapidated apartment by a staircase that was missing several steps. Albert walked down them mechanically, lost in thought.

Shouldn't I consider someone else to recruit? This kid is certainly unstable, and considering what he's been through, no one can blame him. We are only one member short of a successful project, but can I really afford to have an unknown in the equation?

Apparently, he wasn't the only one who had doubts about the situation.

"He seems a bit reckless to me, Albert. "Kéfil remarked, turning to the latter and looking him in the eyes. "Are you sure you're making the right decision? "

"Hm." grunted Albert, looking away. "Let's wait until we meet him before we decide. "

By the time they reached the street, there was no sign of Maïr.

"He turned to the right. That's not good! "Xi Yun was alarmed. "If he even meets an auxiliary, he's finished. We're finished! "

"Haha I'm dreaming, is he really going to do it? "Franco laughed.

Albert was pensive. Was this kid worth the risk of confronting Hyperion without any preparation? There was no indication that Hyperion was on the scene, the Titans being nomadic by nature, but if things went wrong, it was the end of the Organization. All those years spent building his team, the small-scale attacks carried out in order to sow the seeds of revolt in the minds of the people... Was he willing to risk all this for a simple recruit? Certainly, in this context of alien domination, it was difficult to find rebellious souls ready to act against the enemy. But the most sensible solution was to move on and turn back. If he looked hard enough, he should be able to find another profile within a few months. Tonight, Albert's five senses were screaming at him, for once, to go the rational route.

Unfortunately, this was without taking into account the very basis of the Organization's existence: what sensible individual would stand up to a power such as that of the Titans and their devastating technologies? The Organization was in essence irrational. In the end, Maïr was perhaps the ideal person to recruit.

It was time for action.

"Franco. Second street on the left," he said sharply. "Go up to the top floor of the building and be ready to use your sniper rifle. I'm counting on you to cover us if this goes wrong. "

"Agreed." Franco answered, over his shoulder. Albert had barely finished his sentence when Franco left. He had already scouted the location, Albert realized. For all his sarcasm, Franco knew how to remain professional when he had to. Otherwise, Albert would have gotten rid of him long ago. He continued.

" Kefil, the van is not parked very far, prepare the heavy artillery then come and pick us up discreetly by the parallel street. "

"Roger."

"Xi, you're with me. We need to do our best to stop him, even if it means immobilizing him. "Xi Yun nodded, and ran towards Mair.

"Albert. "

About to follow Xi Yun's lead, Albert turned to Kefil, who had just called out to him.

"Looks like you've made up your mind after all. "

"It looks like it. " he replied, an irresponsible smile on his lips. Kefil nodded, chuckling, then turned on his heels and ran toward the van.

Albert took Xi Yun's direction. The young woman was a gazelle. If the century-old Olympic Games still existed, he had no doubt that she would have been crowned champion many times over. He ran, as fast as his right hip would allow, an exercise that it had not enjoyed for several years.

At my age, I should be spending my days in the Caribbean, those beautiful lands where the sand is white and the sea is turquoise, sipping cocktails surrounded by beautiful women. Instead, the Caribbean no longer exists, and I find myself chasing suicidal people in the territory of a monster that could kill us all with a flick of its wrist. Fucking Titans.

He quickly approached the fork in the road, and when he finally stepped onto the street, he nearly hit Xi Yun, who had stopped in the middle of the lane.

"What the hell are you d—"

He stopped dead in his tracks.

Two steps away from him stood Maïr, motionless. Seeing him more closely, Albert noted that the young man of average height was rather frail of shoulders. He did not have the build of a soldier, but rather that of one of the scribes at the Titans' disposal. Considering the enemies they were dealing with, Albert was forced to admit that the boy had guts.

One thing surprised him, however. It was the state he was in.

Maïr was stunned, his face transfigured.

Was he under the spell of one of their incomprehensible attacks?

No, it was improbable. On closer inspection, Albert noticed that Maïr was trembling from head to toe. Tears were streaming from his wide eyes, looking in the direction of Hyperion's mansion, which could be seen a few hundred yards away.

"I... I can't do it..." he mumbled, his voice trembling with incomprehension. "I can't do it..."

Suddenly, Albert felt his pressure release. He had understood the situation.

Maïr was afraid.

He was paralyzed by a deep, uncontrollable fear.  

Chapter 1.

August 10, 2135, Gajel Territory

It was dark when the team arrived at the entrance of Gajel's residence. It was perfectly maintained, a rare sight these days. A huge castle whose walls had been repainted a dark purple, reminiscent of the colors of the Titans' ships, surrounded by a garden whose lawn was obviously regularly mowed and watered. The mansion made a strong impression when you looked around, where all the other houses were just ruins.

Gajel was one of the few Titans left on Earth. Usually they spent most of their time in space, conquering other planets and turning them into colonies, as they had done on Earth. After establishing their dominance over the planets and crushing all resistance with blood and destruction, the Titans handed over to their Millians, powerful artificial beings with intelligence. They kept order in the colonies in a neutral manner, using force only when necessary.

Disgraced following his defeat in a Galactica half a century ago, Gajel was exiled to Earth and has since lived in opulence and luxury. Among his people, he was considered the lowest rung on the ladder, which everyone could afford to step on. Here, however, he had all the power. Not content with having contributed to the colonization of Earth and the stripping of all human possessions, Gajel was now tyrannizing the entire western territory, which is why the Organization had decided that he would be their first target. Until then, the Organization had been content, as Maïr himself had done a year earlier, with small attacks on cargo transports led by the Millians, stealing food supplies and weapons. They had even managed to destroy a dozen Millians in a vehicle bombing, an action that had earned them the antipathy of the people, who saw the Millians' rule as a favor compared to that of their Titan masters. Now, these small attacks were a thing of the past. Today's attack was of a different magnitude.

Today, they were going to take down a Titan.

Maïr, like the rest of the team, was convinced that the plan was perfectly laid out. As Albert had predicted, there were no guards posted at the entrance to Gajel's residence. He was far too proud to have a guard on a planet as insignificant as Earth. In itself, Maïr could not imagine how humans could think about attacking the Titans. Not after Hyperion had wiped out all the weapons and other tools they could use to fight. Not after the violence with which the first revolts had been repressed, which had ended in one-way massacres.

Of course, this was without counting on the resources of the Organization, and its network of informers.

Indeed, few were those who had the courage to openly stand up and challenge the rule of the Titans. However, the Organization had a large number of observers, ready to meet with them as soon as they obtained the slightest information that might interest them. It was, to them, a way to fight.

Albert, a tough, marble-faced man in his sixties and founder of the organization, had been planning this attack for nearly three years. During this time, he had recruited his team members one by one. His very first recruit was Kefil, a mountain of about one hundred kilos for one meter ninety-five, experienced in the art of combat. Then he recruited Franco, whose marksmanship was as incomprehensible as it was prodigious—where could he have learned to shoot like that, in a world where all weapons had been confiscated by the Titans? Then came Xi Yun, a young library on legs that he had never, until today, managed to beat at running. Maïr was the latest recruit, and he was contacted long after the first preparations for this attack had been made. As the organization progressed, the team realized that the plan would not be feasible without the presence of a fifth element, and so they took interest in another recruit.

The Organization had not had to argue much to count Maïr among its ranks. Given the immeasurable hatred he felt towards the Titans, giving him the opportunity to be part of a conspiracy to kill one of them could not have come at a better time.

After all, he owed them that much.

When the Titans had landed on Earth, they had perpetrated massacre after massacre, and nothing could stop them. The world powers that prided themselves on being invincible had all fallen one after the other. Their nuclear weapons, with no effect on the Titans' mystical armor, had damaged the Earth more than it already was, leaving a permanent yellowish tinge in the atmosphere. The human forces had been devastated; the alien technology was simply too advanced, and the Titans simply too powerful.

The team walked silently. Each carried a bag on his back, containing the various parts of the weapon that Maïr hoped would allow them to carry out their mission. It was a happy accident that they had found themselves in possession of this weapon; found during one of their attacks on cargoes particularly well protected by the Millians.

This weapon, they had no idea what it was, or even until recently, how it worked. Indeed, it was not of human design. Luck had led them to a weapon that could allow them to reverse the trend. However, it was not until several months after they had acquired it that they finally understood how it worked, one day when Franco, the most experienced of them all when it came to weapons, had managed to assemble the parts of the device correctly. In the process, he had destroyed the entire building across the street from their shelter, forcing them to move once again.

"For the last time," Albert repeated in a low voice. "If we somehow find out that Gajel is wearing his armor, we cancel everything. It's a critical factor in the success of our plan. If things don't go as planned, we'll run away and try again later. Is that understood? "They all mumbled their agreement.

During the early days of the Last War, researchers had noticed that, although they were naturally much more powerful than humans, the difference in power of a Titan with and without its armor was considerable. Each Titan was monstrous, strong as a thousand men. But when a Titan wore his armor, he became invincible.

No one knew what this armor was made of. What thin material could enable the Titans to withstand the power of nuclear attacks and their radiation, to increase their strength tenfold to the point where they were able to sweep away some of the most powerful ballistic missiles they had ever created with a wave of their hand?

None of the current members of the Organization had seen the Last War, when humans and Titans fought each other. It was over a century ago. However, they had all seen images of it via laser transmitters, an alien technology brought to Earth by the Titans, which functioned as an enhanced form of holograms. They all knew these images too well. Giant black and purple ships, smashing through their fighter planes, destroying everything in their path and firing lasers worthy of the greatest special effects films of yesteryear. Images of Titans crushing tanks with their bare hands, of shocks caused by the power of their blows. Scenes of apocalypse.

Maïr was aware that the regular broadcasting of these images was a dissuasion technique led by the enemy. As long as at least one humain being remembered the overwhelming superiority of the Titans, they would never find the courage to rise up. Thus, their simple Millians were enough to maintain order on Earth, with the threat of retaliation hanging like a shadow over Humanity.

Maïr was only a simple human being, and like all the others, he felt the pressure of this threat.

He felt it violently.

The team had already crossed half of the garden and was approaching the entrance of the manor. Maïr tightened his grip on his weapon, an assault rifle that had never been used before, in order to hide his tremors. Each of his steps was heavy, requiring more energy as he advanced. A quick glance in the direction of his teammates told him that they all shared his condition. Their faces were tense, Albert's more than any other. Kefil took deep breaths, as if he was about to dive into apnea for the rest of his life. Franco, usually sarcastic, kept silent and looked straight ahead, his jaw clenched. Surprisingly, the one who looked the least tense was Xi Yun. As usual, her face was relaxed, her movements precise and determined. Her gaze frequently scanned the surroundings, so that no unexpected event would escape her attention. In front of this demonstration of composure, Maïr understood why Albert had recruited her; she was an important element in the team.

As they approached the residence, noises gradually reached them. The sound of voices, accompanied by light, strange-sounding music. Tonight, Gajel was certainly accompanied by his prostitutes. The closer they got, the louder the noise became, and the more pressing the atmosphere. A few meters from the mansion, Albert, at the head of the group, raised two fingers in the air. It was the sign indicating them to stop.

The first stage had gone smoothly.

At Albert's nod, they put their bags on the ground and unpacked the contents, several metal pieces, some of them thick blocks of black and red metal, about 50 centimeters long. Franco took things in hand and began to assemble them, while the rest of the team kept watch. Maïr observed the mansion, nearly sixty meters high. Up close, it was gigantic. Two huge marble pillars were positioned in front of the entrance, at both ends of the door. The dark color of the mansion's walls gave it a chilling atmosphere.

So this is the kind of place that the powerful of this world like to live in? A great residence for a great power, eh?

Mair turned his attention back to Franco. The assembly of the weapon looked complex. Most of the parts of the weapon fit together easily enough, but some of the smaller, oddly shaped parts made it more difficult.

With a final click, Franco finished assembling the weapon. Once assembled, it was over two meters long, impossible to handle alone. It was Kefil and Franco, the most comfortable with firearms, who would be in charge of using it. Xi Yun, Maïr and Albert were going to create an opening for them.

So far, so good. he reassured himself. Our actions today will have gigantic repercussions, which will give hope to the whole of humanity. They will count for my people, who will see me from where they are. he thought, his last thought knotting his throat. He straightened his head, blinking away tears that threatened to fill his eyes. Look at me, Father, Mother. I will not fail you. Never again.

His thoughts had given him courage, relieving him of some of his fear. Yet the pressure Maïr felt did not subside. On the contrary, it seemed to him that it amplified. He had more and more difficulty to carry out each step, more and more difficulty to breathe. The atmosphere had become heavy, burdensome.

What was going on ?

He looked toward the team members, who also seemed to be having trouble moving forward.

Could it be the presence of Gaj-

He stopped dead in his tracks. A sudden flash crossed his mind, paralyzing him from head to toe. Images cascaded before his eyes. His mother screaming at him to run away. His father, carrying his shotgun in front of the house, facing the enemy. His sister, dead at his feet. That pressure. Hyperion.

Hyperion was here.

They were all going to die.