Chapter Nine: Briefing

Chapter 9: Briefing

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The abandoned warehouse was dimly lit, its rusted metal walls lined with crates of salvaged equipment. A single flickering bulb swung from the ceiling, casting eerie shadows over the battered wooden table that served as their war room. Aiko stood near the doorway, watching the others gather.

She wasn't sure what she had expected. Some organized resistance, maybe—a well-oiled machine ready to strike at the heart of the Unity Network. But the reality was messier. Desperate people with limited resources, bound together by hatred for the system and a hunger for change.

At the center of it all sat Rei, hunched over a cracked tablet. Her fingers glided over the dimly glowing screen, shifting between maps, schematics, and lines of code. She was the strategist, the one who kept everything from falling apart.

Beside her, Kaito leaned against the table, arms folded. He radiated tension, his foot tapping impatiently against the floor. The contrast between the two was striking—Rei, composed and calculating; Kaito, restless and ready to burn the world down.

Rei didn't look up as she spoke. "We don't have time for another blind hit. We need a strategy, not just a show of force."

Kaito exhaled sharply. "Strategy doesn't mean anything if we don't act. The longer we wait, the tighter their grip gets."

Rei barely blinked. "And the more reckless we are, the more people we lose."

Aiko shifted, watching the exchange. Around the table, a dozen rebels sat in silence. Some were hardened fighters, others just desperate souls looking for something—anything—to believe in.

Rei tapped the screen, and a holographic projection flickered to life. A 3D model of a heavily guarded facility appeared before them. "This is our next target."

Kaito's eyes narrowed. "An off-grid relay station."

Rei nodded. "If we take it down, we disrupt communications across three major districts. No orders from the top. No reinforcements. No oversight for hours."

Kaito's expression darkened. "We hit it, and the Unity Network goes blind for a night."

Rei's lips twitched into something that was almost a smirk. "Exactly."

---

The room buzzed with murmurs of approval, but Aiko wasn't convinced. She took a step forward, arms crossed. "And what about the workers inside?"

A hush fell over the room.

Rei hesitated for half a second before responding. "The station is mostly automated. Only a handful of engineers will be present."

Aiko's stare hardened. "That's not an answer."

Kaito exhaled through his nose, already irritated. "They work for them."

"They work to survive," Aiko shot back. "Like the rest of us."

A tense silence settled over the room. Some of the rebels exchanged uncertain glances, while others shifted uncomfortably.

Rei ran a hand through her short hair and sighed. "We disable security, clear the building, and set controlled charges. We make sure no one's inside before we bring it down."

"And if things don't go as planned?" Aiko challenged.

Kaito's patience snapped. "Then we adapt. You think we're the only ones making sacrifices? Every step we take, someone suffers. That's the cost of revolution."

Aiko's stomach twisted. She had lived under the Unity Network's oppression her whole life. She wanted them gone. But at what cost?

She met Kaito's gaze and held it. "I just want to know that we're not becoming the thing we're trying to destroy."

Kaito scoffed and turned away, but Rei was still watching her. Studying her. "There's a fine line," Rei admitted. "And it's easy to cross when you're desperate."

The words hit harder than Aiko expected.

---

Later that night, after most of the rebels had dispersed, Aiko lingered in the warehouse. She stood near the open doorway, looking out at the slums. The neon lights of the city beyond flickered mockingly, a world of luxury built on the backs of people like her.

She sensed someone approaching before she heard them.

"You're different from the others," Rei said, stepping beside her.

Aiko glanced at her. "Because I ask questions?"

Rei smirked. "Because you care about the answers."

Aiko exhaled. "I don't want to just tear things down. I want to know what we're building in its place."

Rei studied her for a moment, then gave a small nod. "That's not a bad thing."

Aiko frowned. "Doesn't seem like Kaito sees it that way."

Rei chuckled. "Kaito's fire. He burns hot, and he doesn't know how to stop. That's why I handle the plans, and he handles the fights."

Aiko hesitated before asking, "And what about you?"

Rei's smirk faded slightly. "I keep us from making mistakes we can't take back."

Aiko nodded slowly.

For the first time, she wondered if this rebellion was something she could truly be a part of.

---

The first traces of dawn seeped through the cracks in the warehouse walls, casting a dull orange glow over the gathered rebels. The room hummed with quiet tension, the kind that settled in before something irreversible took place.

Kaito stood by the weapons table, methodically checking the ammunition in a pistol before sliding it into his belt. His movements were precise, controlled—like a man who had done this a hundred times before. He didn't speak much, but his presence was like a live wire, humming with barely contained energy.

Across the room, Rei was hunched over a dimly lit screen, scrolling through endless lines of code. The faint flicker of data reflected in her sharp eyes as she double-checked access points, alarm triggers, and security rotations. She muttered under her breath, calculations and contingencies forming with every keystroke.

Aiko stood off to the side, staring at the relay station's blueprint projected on a rusted metal board. The jagged lines and labels looked foreign to her, yet she knew the weight of what they represented. This wasn't just another day in the slums, another silent act of defiance against the overseers.

This was rebellion. And it was real.

Her fingers curled into fists at her sides. What if this is a mistake? What if we fail?

But then she thought of the overseers, their cold, unfeeling stares as they whipped workers into submission. She thought of the elderly woman who had trembled when reaching for her meager rations. The blank, hopeless expressions of the people who had long since accepted their fate.

Aiko exhaled sharply.

She had already made her choice.

Steeling herself, she stepped forward.

Rei, ever observant, noticed immediately and lifted her gaze from the screen. Her expression was unreadable, but her voice was clear. "You in?"

Aiko met her eyes. She felt the weight of the question—not just about the mission, but everything that would follow. Am I really ready for this?

But instead of voicing her doubts, she simply nodded. "I'm in."

Rei studied her for a beat longer, as if searching for hesitation, then gave a small nod of approval. "Good. We leave at dusk."

Kaito barely looked up as he finished securing a knife at his hip. His voice was flat, but certain. "Then let's move."

Around them, the rebels sprang into action. Supplies were packed into small, easily carried bundles—rope, explosives, stolen keycards, weapons scavenged from abandoned outposts. Boots shuffled against the dusty floor, hushed voices trading last-minute instructions. The air smelled of old metal, sweat, and the sharp tang of adrenaline.

Aiko reached for a utility belt, strapping it around her waist when she felt someone step beside her. Rei.

"You sure about this?" Rei asked, her voice quieter than before, less testing, more genuine.

Aiko tightened the buckle and met her gaze. "I can't just stand by anymore."

For the first time that night, a flicker of something passed through Rei's expression—something almost like respect. "Then stick close to me," she said. "First missions can get messy."

Aiko didn't know whether that was meant to be reassuring or a warning.

As the final preparations were made, the first rays of sunlight spilled into the warehouse. The slums outside were beginning to stir, another day of suffering beginning for those who had no other choice.

But inside this warehouse, a different kind of awakening had taken place.

The rebellion had a plan.

And Aiko had just taken her first step into a war that would change everything.