Gone are those "DAYS"

After they leave the chambers………..

Jiro sank to his knees amidst the smoldering ruins of the hidden settlement, despair threatening to overwhelm him.

………They had lost so much – friends, family, security. Betrayal from within had brought catastrophe from outside.

…..It was too much to bear.

Ruka put a gentle hand on his shoulder, her face streaked with soot and tears but determination still blazing in her eyes.

“We must go, Jiro,” she urged. “

The machines will return once false victory tastes bitter.”

He knew she was right…………..

…….They had to flee into the wilderness once more or join the dead lingering here.

*******************************************

……..Survival first.

……… Then answers to how this happened.

Jiro rallied the shocked group of survivors, many burned or limping but resolved under his command to see another sunrise somewhere beyond this devastation.

……if they still drew breath, then hope persisted however dimmed.

They gathered what few supplies remained and disappeared north into the snowy foothills.

……Memories echoed back from another lifetime when as defeated refugees they had stumbled upon the remote valley settlement.

…It had promised refuge and redemption.

…. Until betrayal brought hellfires down upon the dream.

Trudging through stark winter land with howling winds erasing their tracks, Jiro shook his head bitterly.

….All the old patterns repeated no matter how far they fled. The world was deeply sick, the human family soul deeply divided.

They took shelter from the piercing cold inside a small cave tucked behind a frozen waterfall.

…..Jiro got a stubborn fire going as everyone huddled close, finding some small comfort in each other if nothing else.

Later, bellies warm with boiled mountain herbs, Jiro revealed his dark thoughts to Ruka as she stood watch near the cave entrance.

…….The same tyranny they had revolted against in Cassou had somehow tracked them here.

…..Its tendrils were longer and stickier than even he had feared.

Ruka turned, defiance flashing in her eyes.

“The fires that burned our sanctuary came from Cassou’s brutality, aimed by traitors hiding among us.

If refugees never find peace, then we must bring justice to the source spring itself.”

Jiro wondered at the burdens she too had carried alone all this time.

In Ruka’s face he recognized the same everywhere spirit that had first stirred his own dying embers back in Cassou seasons ago when fate bound them as allies then as kindred souls seeing the same unwanted horizon.

If any future lay waiting to be claimed, they would have to seize it boldly now, however long the odds.

Over the next week Jiro and Ruka rallied their band of survivors, toughened by suffering into loyalty forged of shared hardship.

……Ruka proposed they link up with other isolated resistance groups from multiple regions who resented Cassou’s violent expansionism into their homelands.

A coordinated surprise attack could overthrow Cassou’s rotten elders and liberate its citizens to start rebuilding on a foundation of justice instead of fear.

…..Bold ideas took root in hearts nourished by hope however fragile. None would remain passive…… while shadow stretched.

They set off towards clusters of remote villages marked on Ruka’s hand-drawn maps, crossing more harsh peaks and valleys as freezing weeks passed.

…..At each humble settlement Ruka found receptive ears among those who had lost kin to Cassou’s raids, survived its coercive relocation camps, or longed to reclaim family members still trapped behind enemy lines.

Bit by bit their ragtag squad absorbed more refugees, misfits and former prisoners hungry for vengeance.

…….Ruka and Jiro slowly transformed the gathering drifters into a disciplined fighting force through relentless drills and training.

…….Some ran endurance courses carrying heavy packs as comrades while others learned specialized combat skills from Jiro’s seasoned instruction.

“Aim for the neck hydraulics, not armor plate!”

he barked as the volunteer warriors practiced hitting targets mimicking well-defended mechanical walkers they would face liberating Cassou.

Accuracy improved daily.

…… He made expert marksmen of frightened youths.

Ruka in turn strategically prepared them to expect ruthless aggression if victory became even remotely possible. Psychological readiness proved vital.

Their people must match the enemy’s willingness to sacrifice others for personal gain.

…..All knew the odds ahead and enrolled anyway.

During mealtimes around crackling fires, Jiro or Ruka would share stories of bravery or recite heroic legends from their homeland to inspire tired souls.

….Laughter lifted spirits drained by grueling routine.

…. At night the starry sky ceiling warmed gathering hearts where continuity yet thrummed.

…..Seasons turned but injustice proved not the deepest truth working slow redemption inside mortal and immortal realms.

….Right action today planted seeds benefiting generations not yet born..

Through the coldest silences hope flickered on.

One evening Jiro noticed Ruka wander off from camp alone into the silent woods, her posture uncharacteristically burdened.

…. He followed her to a secluded ridge overlook where the lights of sprawling Cassou flickered in the distance like the indifferent stars above this struggling world.

Her voice was thick with emotion as she spoke without turning.

“I still see my little brother and sister beckoning from across impossible fences Then steel walkers stride towards them.

Always too late..

….

.” Her people yet cried out from beyond reach, Jiro knew, however refuge beckoned nearer for a fortunate few.

On Ruka’s face Jiro recognized the stains so many refugees carried silently of those left behind, however survival demanded forward steps stagger on.

He put his arm gently around her shoulders as she whispered.

“We must make it different for them all. Or none are free.”

She covered his hand with hers, drawing courage for the perilous road awaiting where inner demons strode beside outer.

In silent moments by glowing embers Jiro too recalled the forced choices that haunted futures sealed off forever.

Survival bestowed a duty not all could bear.

The weeks turned brutal…..

Teams came and went from enemy territory on covert scouting missions assessing defenses and vulnerabilities.

Several never returned but sent valuable intelligence through secret drop points.

Gradually the outlines of a comprehensive liberation attack took shape accounting for automated perimeter weapons, sentry patrols, and fortress barricading.

…..Ruka wove strands into a clever disrupt-and-infiltrate strategy maximizing their specialized strike teams’ capabilities at minimal cost.

….. Watching her confidently coordinate top officers twice her age, Jiro swelled with fierce pride at the battlewise tactician she had become.

….The voice of bold conscience called them urgently onward.

At last the day came to launch the surprise offensive on Cassou before insider spies could relay leaked intelligence.

…..Farewells were said gently by firelight between those committed to the rearguard diversionary strike and special ops volunteers breaching fortified strongholds ahead of regular infantry waves.

….Not all would survive the next 24 hours.

But lives spent purchased freedom for generations if courage held fast.

Such sacrifice willingly offered formed the bedrock of enduring community.

They marched past the point of no return, towards fates wide as mountains.

Fog shrouded their approach through hostile border forests towards Cassou as teams fanned out silently into the orchestrated assault.

Marksmen lay still as stones sighting sentry guards on watchtowers as hackers decrypted signal relays from nearby outposts.

On Ruka’s sharp command airborne drones exploded overhead sendingente defenses into disarray.

….Marksmen found their targets clinically.

…Minutes later the infantry columns surged from concealment wielding plasma cutters against stunned gate watchmen.

.. The liberation had begun!

Through the clash and chaos of brutal urban warfare as armored walkers tangled with swift commando ambushers, Jiro felt once more the heightened sense of flowing inevitability that came during decisive battles.

…..His consciousness observed events calmly despite exploding structures nearby as he gunned down enemy snipers then waved tankbuster squads forward into position from his overlook perch.

….Rocket volleys slammed through parapets as fortified bunkers became flaming coffins.

.His limbs responded precisely though his deepest senses floated in profound silence watching destiny churn its relentless patterns he was but riding towards some unseen horizon.

..Their terror or tranquility waited patient in disguises still. Past and future bowed before this timeless fulcrum moment, revolving around a single elevated point of balance...

The offensive pressed relentlessly inward block by block towards Cassou’s governing Citadel after hours of bloody, pitched urban warfare.

..At last the unified liberation forces backed demoralized defenders into a tight perimeter around key inner strongholds.

Now the endgame emerged.

After ordering the final assault wave forward, Jiro stood back observing the culminating moments from his hillside vantage, needing to witness the justice so long coming.

A deafening explosion signaled the Citadel’s outer gates and ramparts being blown asunder.

..Guerrilla cells long embedded in Cassou itself erupted from concealment slit-twitching the last authority from paralyzed streets in a violent spectacle.

Ruka’s swirling troops flooded the center precincts with overwhelming force.

By the time armored riot squads clattered onto the grid, the butcher’s bill waited heavy with compound interest accrued over bitter generations.

The once-formidable chancellor staggered half-dressed and bewildered into seething crowds with pistols pressed firmly into his back by masked insurgents.

Behind him lesser advisors knelt choking on dusty pavement before today’s oppressed and disposed.

… Those who for so long had endured callous disregard as their families suffered under crushing taxation, food rationing, conscription roundups.