Chapter Ten: The Mission
Chapter 10: The Mission
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The rebellion had spent years in the shadows—stealing supplies, gathering intelligence, and taking small, strategic jabs at the Unity Network. But small acts of defiance could only go so far. Now, the time for caution was over.
Their first real strike had to count.
The government relay facility was their target—a central hub for processing and transmitting classified data across the city. Everything from enforcer orders to power grid controls flowed through its servers. If they could shut it down, even for a night, they could disrupt the flow of information and send a message: the Unity Network was not untouchable.
But this wasn't just about sending a message. Buried deep within the facility's encrypted files was something far more valuable—a clue to The Vault. The Vault, a repository of secrets, held information that could expose the truth about the Unity Network's origins, its control mechanisms, and the dark truths the Hoshino family had hidden for generations.
If they could retrieve those files, they might finally have a way to end the system that had enslaved them all.
But the facility was more than just data servers and transmission towers. It was a fortress.
Surveillance drones hovered in tight patrol patterns, their cameras sweeping every inch of the perimeter. Enforcers in reinforced armor stood guard at key entry points, their rifles primed for any sign of unauthorized movement. Automated turrets tracked heat signatures, prepared to fire the moment an unknown presence was detected. The entire building was a carefully woven web of defenses, each layer designed to crush anyone who dared to breach its walls.
To most people, an attack on the facility would be suicide.
But to Kaito and his rebels, it was their best chance at striking the first blow in a war that had been waged in silence for far too long.
And war had its price.
The Plan
The mission was a delicate balance of precision and aggression.
Rei, their strategist and tech expert, had mapped out every patrol shift, surveillance blind spot, and security vulnerability. With her help, they had found a small but crucial window—a three-minute gap in the drone sweeps and patrol rotations that would allow them to slip inside undetected.
Kenzo, their muscle, was in charge of sabotage. Explosives had been prepared—not to destroy the facility completely, but to disable its primary servers and disrupt communication lines. A targeted shutdown that would leave the Network scrambling to recover.
Aiko, still new to the rebellion but burning with determination, would work alongside Rei to extract the stolen data. Her ability to think fast, to act under pressure, had already earned her a place among them. And tonight, she would prove that she was more than just a worker from the slums.
Kaito, as always, led from the front. He had fought for too long, lost too much, to let this mission fail.
The plan was set. The risks were undeniable. But failure was not an option.
Because if they didn't fight back now, they never would.
And the Unity Network would never stop tightening its grip.
This was more than just a raid.
This was the first shot in a war that would shake the foundations of the world.
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The rebels gathered in a dimly lit underground hideout, the air thick with anticipation. A holo-display flickered in the center of the table, showing a rotating schematic of the relay facility. Rei's fingers danced across the screen as she finalized their infiltration plan.
"We have a three-minute window between patrol shifts," she said, her voice steady. "That's all the time we'll have to get inside without raising alarms. Any longer, and we're dead."
Kaito, leaning against the wall, crossed his arms. "Then we don't waste a second."
Aiko sat at the far end of the table, watching as the others checked their gear. It still felt surreal—one day she was another worker in the slums, and now she was planning an attack on the same system that had crushed her people for years.
She took a deep breath. "What about after we plant the explosives? How do we get out?"
Kenzo, cracking his knuckles, grinned. "We run like hell."
Rei rolled her eyes. "We'll have an exit route. There's a service tunnel running beneath the facility. We override the locks, and it takes us straight into the old sewer network."
Kaito looked at the team, his sharp gaze meeting each of theirs. "No mistakes. No hesitation. We hit them fast, we get what we came for, and we disappear."
A tense silence followed. Everyone knew what was at stake.
Aiko finally exhaled, nodding. She had made her choice.
"Let's do this."
---
The facility loomed ahead, bathed in artificial light, its steel walls towering over the rebels as they crouched behind the ruins of an abandoned shop. The night air was heavy with tension.
Rei tapped her earpiece. "Patrol shift in ten seconds. Get ready."
Kaito signaled the team forward. They moved in silence, slipping past motion sensors and security drones. Rei worked fast, disabling cameras with quick pulses from her hacking device.
As they reached the main entrance, Kenzo pressed a small charge against the door's lock. A soft beep, a flicker of sparks, and the door slid open.
They were in.
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Inside, the facility hummed with energy. Rows of terminals displayed endless streams of data, the lifeblood of the Unity Network.
Aiko's fingers curled into fists. All this power—used to suppress, to control, to enslave.
"Move," Kaito whispered.
They split up. Rei and Aiko headed toward the server room, while Kaito and Kenzo planted explosives along the structural supports.
Rei pulled up the encrypted files on a terminal. "This is it," she muttered. "The Vault is mentioned in several files, but the encryption is too strong. We'll need more time."
Aiko glanced over her shoulder. "We don't have time."
A sudden alarm blared through the facility. Red lights flashed, and mechanical voices echoed overhead. Intruders detected. Engage security protocols.
Kaito's voice crackled in their earpieces. "They're onto us! Get what you can and move!"
Rei cursed but kept working, her hands flying across the keys. The files began transferring to a small data drive.
Aiko turned as footsteps pounded toward them. Enforcers.
She grabbed a metal pipe from the floor and braced herself.
---
The tension in the air was palpable as the team moved through the facility's dark hallways. The walls were lined with cold, metallic surfaces, reflecting the harsh fluorescent lights above. Everything was going according to plan—until the enforcers stormed into the server room.
Aiko's heart hammered in her chest as the door exploded open, revealing the first wave of enforcers in full riot gear. Rifles raised. Batons in hand. It was the moment everything shifted.
Aiko didn't hesitate. She was already moving before they could react, her body a blur as she lunged forward. The makeshift pipe she wielded swung with brutal force, catching the first enforcer in the ribs. The crack of bone echoed in the room as he staggered back, gasping in pain.
But another enforcer was already on her, moving faster than she anticipated. He slammed the butt of his rifle into her stomach, the impact knocking the air from her lungs. She gasped, knees buckling, but managed to stay upright as pain bloomed in her abdomen.
Before she could retaliate, Kenzo appeared in the doorway. His eyes were locked onto the enemy, muscles coiled like a spring. With one powerful, precise strike, he drove his fist into an enforcer's jaw, sending the man crashing into a console. Sparks flew from the damaged equipment, and the enforcer collapsed in a heap, unconscious.
"Time to go!" Kenzo barked, his voice a low growl.
Aiko nodded, pushing the pain away as she scrambled to her feet. Her breath was ragged, but the fight was far from over. She turned to see Rei yank the data drive free from the central server, her fingers flying over the device. "Got it!" Rei shouted, holding up the drive.
Just as she secured the drive, Kaito's voice came through the comms: "Get to the tunnel—now!"
Gunfire erupted. The deafening sound of bullets cutting through the air drowned out everything else. Aiko barely had time to react as a round ricocheted off the wall next to her, sending debris flying. She dropped to the ground, instincts kicking in, and rolled toward cover.
The rebels sprinted forward, moving in perfect sync, dodging bullets and leaping over fallen debris. Kenzo took a hit to the shoulder—blood splattered across the wall as the bullet punctured through his armor—but he didn't flinch. He kept moving, blood dripping down his arm, and Aiko grabbed him, pulling him forward as they ran.
The explosions of gunfire were relentless. Aiko felt the heat of the shots grazing her skin as she sprinted, her lungs burning with every breath. The adrenaline pushed her forward, her mind focused solely on reaching the tunnel.
Ahead, Kaito was already at the hatch, yanking the heavy metal door open with urgency. "Inside, now!" he ordered.
The first rebels dove in, one by one. Kenzo was through the hatch, then Rei, her face a grim mask of determination. Aiko hesitated, her gaze darting back toward the chaos, but she was quickly pulled forward by Kaito's strong hand.
Just as she was about to follow him into the hatch—a shot rang out.
Aiko's heart froze.
She turned just in time to see Haruto, a younger rebel, fall to the floor. His chest exploded in a spray of blood as the bullet struck him. His body jerked violently, and then he crumpled, his eyes wide with shock, his mouth agape as he tried to breathe. Blood pooled beneath him, staining the floor a deep crimson.
"No—!" Aiko's breath caught in her throat, and she lunged forward, instinctively reaching for him.
But before she could even take two steps, Kaito's grip on her wrist was iron-tight. "No."
Aiko struggled, trying to pull free, but Kaito dragged her toward the hatch, urgency etched on his face. "We don't have time. We can't save him now."
Aiko's chest tightened with guilt and fury, but she didn't argue. The sound of gunfire closing in drowned out all reason. The screams of their fallen comrade echoed in her mind, and it felt as though the walls of the facility were closing in around them. She wasn't going to let him die for nothing.
Kaito threw one final glance toward the room. Haruto's lifeless body lay still on the floor, surrounded by pools of blood. His eyes were wide open, staring at the ceiling, forever frozen in that moment.
Then, with a harsh tug, Kaito pulled Aiko into the hatch, slamming it shut just as another explosion rocked the building.
The ground shook beneath their feet, and the sound of the explosion reverberated through the tunnel, its force slamming into their ears as they scrambled deeper into the escape route.
Aiko's heart was still racing, but now it wasn't just from the adrenaline—it was from the reality of the cost. The mission had succeeded. They had the data. They had struck a blow to the Unity Network.
But at what price?
As the tunnel closed in behind them, a new resolve hardened inside Aiko. Her hands clenched into fists. She had watched Haruto die, and she couldn't allow it to be in vain.
The Unity Network would pay for this. They had taken one of their own. And Aiko vowed, with every ounce of her being, that the fight was far from over.
---
The rebels emerged from the sewer tunnels, their bodies battered, their breaths ragged. They had made it out—but not all of them.
Aiko knelt beside Kenzo, pressing a cloth to his bleeding shoulder. He winced but gave a half-smirk. "Hell of a first mission for you."
Rei sat on the ground, scrolling through the stolen data. "We got something," she muttered, though there was little triumph in her voice. "But it's not enough. We need more."
Kaito stood apart from them, his fists clenched, his face dark with fury. He had known there would be casualties. But knowing didn't make it any easier.
Aiko looked at the blood on her hands—Haruto's blood. A slow rage burned inside her, deeper than anything she had ever felt before.
She turned to Kaito. "We keep fighting."
Kaito met her gaze, and for the first time, he saw it—the fire in her eyes, the unbreakable resolve.
She had lost too much.
And she would burn the Unity Network to the ground before she lost anything else.
The war had truly begun.