We were on Canyon guard duty when Minimajs came and told us.

“The information is real.” He said.

A week prior, an informant sold us the exact meeting location of the top Tangent employees. Even better, the meeting was taking place in CA HQ. It was time to wake the citizens of Neocron up from their trance. We decided to storm the very heart of the city.

A large force would never make it through the protected sectors, so we gathered a small handful of people and met outside the HQ. The adrenaline coursed through my body as we prepared to storm the building. The psi monks chanted prayers to their fallen leader and created protective barriers around us.

I was the first to enter as I rushed through the sliding door. The City Admin guards were dead before their hands reached their guns. The employees hid behind the counters, but they were sheep. We were there for the shepherds. The information told us they were on the third floor.

As we stepped into the grav lift, it was surprisingly soothing. Only there would I gain any peace of mind in the place of my hated enemy.

City Admin guards had assembled in front of the Tangent meeting room. They tried to hold us off, but we were not concerned with collateral damage. Rockets and fusion shot down the hall, taking the guards and the wall behind it with them.

CryptoChronic kicked open the door and was the first to rush in. To our surprise, two STORM bots were waiting for us. Crypto was dead before he could blink. Was it a trap all along? There was no time for that. We fired into the room, taking as many Tangent with us as we could, but the STORM bots hit us back. It was time to leave.

We rushed back towards the grav lift. The calm I felt earlier was now noticeably absent. My hand shook as I tapped the trigger of my gun. As we reached the bottom floor, an army was waiting for us. NDA and System Shock. Tangent had called for back up.

We were pinned. Our leader Nexx cursed. “Our only option is to rush them.” He said, shooting a blast of fusion around the corner before turning his attention back to us. “As one, make your way to the door. When you get outside, scatter and return to the Canyon.”

Some one counted down from three. The Tangent reinforcements seemed genuinely surprised as we ran full speed at them. A bolt of plasma hit my arm, causing as much pain as I’d ever experienced.

I crashed through their lines and made it out, immediately retreating to the sewers. Several were with me, but many fell behind.

When we returned to the Canyon, we counted our numbers. Over half of us had fallen. The news feed reported a reactor explosion in CA HQ. The people would remain sheep. But at that moment, we seemed a little stronger, and Reza seemed a little weaker. Perhaps victory was possible.

- by Jest