The Rainbow Brothers and Shine, posing as death cult officers in full uniform and regalia, have just been confronted by President Oscuro at an underground base. At the base, the Rainbow Brothers’ rocket that was crashed and stolen by Oscuro’s violent mind-controlled mercenaries is being held. The Rainbow Brothers and Shine have just tagged a self-replicating nano bot on the rocket. It will eat the rocket and self-destruct.
Oscuro: Yes, Generals, you don’t appear in my memory banks.
Rob Rainbow: There have been some malfunctions with ID systems here on base.
Oscuro: No, no. That’s not it. The systems here are inferior. I am the most superior A.I. on Earth. So tell me, who are you?
Bob, Rob, and Shine stare harshly at the psychopathic A.I. before them.
Shine: I can assure you, this is a misunderstanding.
Oscuro: And I can assure you that you have made a grave error.
Oscuro turns to the immoral order-followers behind him.
Oscuro: You. You’re the highest ranking officer in here. Where is the base commander?
Order-follower: He’s on his way. You were quite early and….
Oscuro (cackling): I’m terribly sorry if my anxious arrival inconvenienced you. I’ll deal with the command structure of this base later. (turns back to The Rainbow Brothers and Shine) So, who are you? By the feeble looks of you, most certainly not secret agents or anything of that sort. The most logical explanation is that you, or at least one of you, is the builder of my new rocket here.
One of the order-followers interrupts Oscuro.
Order-follower: President Oscuro…
Oscuro (metallic roar): You are a dead man! Why are you interrupting me, dead man!?
Order-follower: We are under attack, sir! Archon’s forces are storming the area, sir!
A thunderous boom shakes the compound. Oscuro roars and pierces the ears of everyone in the room before dissolving and disappearing through electric and information conduits. The Rainbow Brothers and Shine take the opportunity to pull weapons. Rob dives and fires a full clip of phase changing smart bullets that pierce the nano-armor of one of the order-followers, and misses another order-follower. Bob tries to run for the exit while firing one of his pistols, but his nano-armor malfunctions and he is shot in the back. Shine takes cover behind the rocket and manages to pierce the armor of two of the uniformed mafia members.
The rocket is now starting to disintegrate, but Oscuro’s government mafia members are too occupied with weapons fire to notice, let alone do anything to stop it. Violent agents of Archon’s government mob faction burst onto the scene and start fighting with Oscuro’s remaining extortion-funded mercenaries. Rob and Shine dart to the exit amidst the chaos. Rob takes one last glance at his brother, who lies motionless and lifeless just meters away. They shed their uniform tops while running down the tunnel. Rob attempts to communicate with Big Bopper.
Rob: Bopper! We need help!
Bopper: I know. I saw the battle breaking out between Oscuro and Archon’s uniformed cult members. Cascade just took off to try and reach you, and I’m doing what I can to interfere with the statist communication and weapon systems. Another anarchist has also just come to help and is flying into the chaos as well. If you can stay alive for 10 minutes, your chances of being rescued are 88 percent! Hang in there!
Rob and Shine are huffing hard as they near the end of the tunnel where they came in from the storefront.
Rob: Bopper, do you see the storefront where we’re at?
Bopper: Yes!
Rob: Is it clear to exit?
Bopper: No!
Shine: How many are there?
Bopper: Eight, but that’s only what I can sense. There could be more.
Rob: Any good news?
Bopper: Half of them don’t have bioblockers, and two more have damaged armor.
Rob: So we’ve got at least two to deal with.
Shine: We gotta get out of this tunnel, one way or another. I say we go for it.
Rob nods and they both pull pistols. They go up the steps quickly and just before they slip through the secret passage leading into the storefront, they hear multiple shots and screams of agony. When they arrive, they see dead bodies strewn on the floor, and two order-followers engaged in hand-to-hand combat. They race past the fighting order-followers and out into the night.
Meanwhile, Cascade is getting near them, as is another veteran agorist that showed up with another plane. Seak, A.I. “son” of Symphy. They are dodging statist drones. Most of the drones from Archon and Oscuro’s forces battle each other. However, two have noticed Cascade and Seak in their midst and are giving pursuit.
Cascade: Can you hold them off while I dip lower? I think I’m almost at Shine and Rob’s position!
Seak: Go for it! I’ll keep them busy.
Seak’s superior craft outmaneuvers the drones and he fires an array of energy pulses at different frequencies, which causes minor damage to their power and navigation systems. Cascade’s A.I. in his plane gets a fix on Shine and Rob. He sends an encrypted message to Rob Rainbow:
COMING DOWN ON YOUR 9 O’CLOCK IN 20 SECONDS! GONNA BE TOUCH AND GO! GET READY TO HOP IN!
Rob receives the alert and looks over his shoulder. He shows the message to Shine and they get a running start to get ready for their leap. Cascade touches the four-seater down hastily and they barely jump and latch on from the side. Shine makes it in first, and he helps pull Rob up just as Cascade gets the plane back in the air. Weapons fire crackles just behind them.
An hour later, Rob Rainbow, Cascade, Shine, and Seak have their ocean vessels 15,000 feet deep and are discussing what happened. Rob is still in shock from his brother’s death.
Seak: I wish I could have gotten there sooner.
Shine: It’s ok. You did your best. Thank you.
Rob: Bopper, confirm that the rocket and all of its contents was destroyed.
Big Bopper: My sensor readings indicate that it was.
Rob: At least my brother didn’t die for nothing.
Cascade: I’m very sorry for your loss, Rob.
Seak: I have examined the design of your rocket’s engine core. It is intriguing. May I share it on The Mesh?
Rob: Yeah, go ahead. Who knows? If it works, then my brother will never be forgotten.
Episode 5 coming soon!
Thanks for your time and attention!
Just say "NO" to slavery!
Top image is from pikist.
Check out my writing archive