[2205 | A Chance]
The feed now reads “February, 2205.” For the past year, the Farm has been without power; the Government is still unable to determine how New Zealand was able to permanently disable it. The public has been advised to stay indoors to avoid the enemy forces now occupying the country. As a result of these measures, the streets are empty, lit only by gas lamps installed to provide some form of light in the black nights.
Six New Zealand warriors fly through the city formerly known as Sydney. Wearing robotic suits of armour, their eyes glow blue, as do the jet thrusters attached to the soles of their boots. Their task is simple: search for enemy combatants, then destroy them. All except for the fireteam leader, Sergeant Aurora Chance, who has been given more information about the power outage than her rank determines.
A loud humming fills the air, and everything below it is suddenly awash with light. The ship is branded YutopiCorp, and the fireteam assumes that it must hail from the City or the Heart, on account of it requiring energy to run. The fireteam’s stomachs sink at the thought of how obvious the drop ship is: it wants to be seen. The warriors follow their sergeant’s instructions and stop flying, instead hovering in position as Chance flies toward the ship to investigate.
As she reaches her destination, the drop ship’s airlock opens. From it fly a dozen shinobi, gliders stretched wide. Spotting the New Zealand combatants, shuriken appear in each of the sninobi’s hands. Taking aim, the shinobi launch their shuriken, with more materialising in their place. As these appear, the shinobi fling them toward the enemy, and repeat the process.
The New Zealanders duck and weave, dodging the attacks as the shuriken explode as they make contact with nearby buildings. As neither side shows consideration for the property damage nor the potential loss of life, the opposing forces take the battle lower, using the cityscape for protection. One shinobi takes a laser to the glider and hits the ground, shattering his skull as he lands head first in the pavement. One of his comrades soon takes revenge, landing an explosive shuriken to the chest; the explosion blows right through his ribcage, sending him hurtling toward another member of his company. They are both dead.
Chance watches the battle play out. Her team is now outnumbered, eleven to three. It won’t be long now. Three decapitations later, and it certainly wasn’t.
Alexa watches as Chance flies towards the drop ship and enters through the airlock. With her arms stretched above her head, three YutopiCorp warriors have their rifles aimed directly at her.
“I surrender,” Chance says.
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