The Biomass Revolution (The Tisaian Chronicles) (36 page)

A scream cut through the morning, another rebel falling to t
he ground, the victim of a CRK sniper round.

“You have to hurry! The rebels won’t hold back much longer!”
Creo yelled.

Spurious nodded and grabbed a radio from Ran.

“The Knight in charge is Royal Knight Tinus. Good luck,” he replied.  

“That’s the Knight that killed the Samoan
!” Spurious shouted anxiously.

Ran shrugged. “
I don’t care who he is. This isn’t going to work. You can’t trust the Tin Can’s. They will never surrender,” he replied.

Spurious
ignored the small soldier, knowing he was still grieving over Nordica’s death. Snatching the radio, he took a knee behind the Fox Hound.

“Royal Knight Tinus come in. Over.”

Static crackled over the radio for several seconds.

“Roger. Tinus here. With whom am I speaking? Over.”
His voice was edgy, strained from yelling.

“This is Spurious Timur.
I’m a State employee with SGS. I have been authorized to offer you a conditional surrender. Over.”

Tinus laughed. “If you can give me one good reason to talk to a traitor,
then I’ll give surrender honest consideration. Over.”

Ran chuckled. “W
hat did I tell you?”

“Shut up
, little man. Let him talk,” Ajax growled.

“Royal Knight Tinus. I understand how you may feel right now. Everything you have known has turned upside down within hours. Your work, dedication and loyalty to the State may seem lost, but I can assure you
it’s not.”

“You know nothing about dedication and
loyalty; you’re nothing more than a traitor!” Tinus yelled, interrupting Spurious.

Spurious stiffened. “I know more about loyalty and dedication than you think.
After my parents were killed in the beginning years of the revolution I was sent to an orphanage and later to the University. I became a State employee and have served the State since then. In the past two months everything changed for me. My best friend was killed in the subway attacks; the woman I loved betrayed me and was killed…”

Spurious choked, the memory of Lana’s death haunting his thoughts before the crackling radio brought him back.

“It turns out everything I have known to be true is a lie. My parents were the founders of the TDU. The State I served has oppressed those it has sworn to defend. I have seen the Wastelands, I have seen the immigrant camps and I have seen the ruthlessness of both the TDU and the Knights. And on top of all of the death, misery and pain I have seen something else. I have seen a common humanity I once read about when I was a young boy. There was once a place called New York City, a city full of immigrants from around the world. They came to Ellis Island for a chance at better life. As I have traveled throughout Tisaia, the camps, Rohania and even Lunia I realized what made New York great can make Tisaia great. If we give everyone a chance to survive, Tisaia can become a just place again.  You know as well as I do that we have enough Biomass and food reserves to last a century. We can help those in need. We can build a strong Tisaia, one that values righteousness.”

Ajax watched the young man and smiled. “Go on
, Spurious,” he said.

Spurious nodded and continued. “Tinus, I ask you to surrender because the bloodshed does not need to continue. We can heal from this revolution
, and you and your Knights will not be harmed. I can assure you. At the end of this, we’ll need your men to continue to protect our walls. Your men will not only be safe, they will be utilized in further service to the State. These are our conditions. Surrender and you shall remain Knights…”

Time
: 8:22 a.m. February 29, 2071

Location:
The Golden Dome. Lunia, Tisaia

The arena was almost completely dark, illuminated only by the sporadic red flicker of blinking emergency lights.

Inside the second floor
business office, Royal Knight Tinus stood in the makeshift control room, staring at an outdated map of the city. His men were still hastily setting the room up, piling desks against the windows overlooking the parking lot. 

A deafening gunshot rang out from the corner of the room, the shot echoing through
out, but Tinus held steady, his face stoic. He had ordered the two snipers positioned at the window to fire every five minutes, to prevent the rebels from advancing. This would buy him time, hopefully enough to devise a plan—a plan that didn’t include surrendering, the option extended to him earlier by the TDU.

“
Reporting for duty, sir,” a Knight said from the hallway.

Tinus instantly recognized the muffled voice.
“How did it come to this, Riya?” he replied, bringing his fist down on the table. “That wasn’t a rhetorical question.”

Riya unfastened his helmet, taking it off so he could run his hand through his sweat drenched hair.
“Sir, it’s not good. We’ve lost contact with all of our squads outside the building. The rebels have taken two of our ammo depots, our garage, and our headquarters is gone.”

Tinus
froze, his eyes finding their way back to the map. “We’re completely surrounded and the rebels have Fox Hounds. There is no way out.”

Riya frowned, wondering if it was finally time to reveal his true thoughts about the State. Would Tinus accept them? Embrace them? Or would he call him a traitor and have him hauled away? The old Knight took a deep breath.
Under the circumstances it was a risk he was willing to take. “Sir, we need to talk. Can we do this in private?”

Tinus wiped a bead of sweat of
f his forehead. “Sure, there is an office down the hall. Follow me.”

The two Knights exited the office and entered the dark hall, ignoring the salutes of Knights who stood waiting for orders.

“It’s the first door on your left,” Tinus said, pointing ahead.

Riya scanned the room and found a pair of chairs stacked in the corner. He dragged them over to a coffee table and nodded at Tinus. “Please sit.”

Tinus clasped his hands together behind his back. “I’d rather stand. There is a battle going on outside, our men are dying. Make this quick.”

Riya
nodded and reached for his hand held radio, placing it in the center of the table. “I overheard your conversation with Spurious on the open channel. In fact, most of the men did.”

Tinus
laughed, his face quickly growing red with anger. “You brought me all the way down here to tell me that?”

“With all due respect sir, just look outside.
We’re completely surrounded. There is nowhere to run and no way to fight our way out of this situation. You’re the Royal Commander now. Please think of your men and the citizens of Tisaia.”

Tinus snorted. “W
e can still win this battle, my old friend.”

“
At what cost? 25 men? 50?” Riya said, interrupting Tinus in mid sentence.

“
I’d sacrifice every man if it meant keeping Tisaia safe.”

Riya stood to face his old ally. “Safe from whom? From its own p
eople? The Rohanians? The State Workers? The Immigrants? Tinus, this revolution isn’t the result of one horrible law; it’s a result of hundreds of bad laws!”

“What would you have me do?” Tinus
said, his face flushed with frustration.

“
I’d have you surrender and help restore Tisaia to the State it was meant to be!” Riya yelled, spit flying out of his open mouth.

Tinus
stiffened. His eyes locked with Riya’s for a split second before darting away to the wall. He took a deep breath and walked to the door. “When did things go to shit, my old friend?”

Riya took a step over to Tinus and put a hand on his armored shoulder. “A long time ago.”

Tinus let out a deep breath, his chest plate shrinking back to its normal position. A flash from his battle with the Samoan slipped into his mind. He could vividly remember the crowd cheering for the refugee. Even clearer was the memory of his utter shock, wondering why the audience would request mercy for the man. But now it was all beginning to make sense. As much as he hated to admit it, Riya and Spurious were right. The State had oppressed citizens for too long. Even worse, the Governor and his cohorts had brainwashed the Knights to carry out their restrictive laws. How could he have been blind to it for so long?

Tinus grunted, and cracked a rare smile.
“You’re right, Riya. We should have stood up for what was right a long time ago. I’m afraid fear has been rampant for too long in Tisaia, preventing justice and equality from being served to the masses.”

Riya
returned the man’s smile. “You’re right, but it isn’t too late. We can still salvage this. We can help rebuild Tisaia again.”

“I thought that’s what we did after the Biomass Wars, but I’ve been wrong all along,” Tinus responded, slipping his helmet back on.
“Inform the men. I’m heading back to the control room to discuss our surrender with the TDU.”

Riya stood at the doorway, watching the red flicker of emergency lights. The glow illuminated Tinus’ dust caked armor through the darkness with every
flash.

Suddenly a
powerful wave of relief rushed over Riya—a wave so powerful he was forced to brace himself against the wall. He had been harboring his dissent for so long, and now it was finally over. He could breathe again. And while he wasn’t certain what the future held, there was something about this Spurious that convinced him things were going to change.

Time
: 9:01 a.m. February 29, 2071

Location:
Lunia, Tisaia

Static crackled over the radio. Squad 19 hunched around the radio, waiting for a response from Royal Knight Tinus.

Spurious
glanced up to see the Rohanians had stopped advancing and waited in a circle around the building, news of the negotiations spreading quickly.

“Spurious, this is Tinus, come in. Over
.”

Spurious fumbled for the radio and quickly brought it to his mouth. “Roger, Spurious here. Over.”

“First off, let’s drop the radio formalities. This conversation is anything but formal. Now tell me, the Ellis Island you spoke of. Was it a good place to live?”

“One of the best sir. The men and women migrated there in search of a better life. Through hard work they achieved mo
re than you could ever imagine and built one of the best cities in the world.”

“This sounds like something worth fighting for,” Tinus replied. “How will you ensure my men will still continue to serve if we surrender?”

“Rebel leader Obi Hepe firmly believed Tisaia was corrupted not by its soldiers, but by its leaders. With Governor Felix, Commander Augustus and the legislature gone, Tisaia will need new leaders. Righteous leaders. They will need an army to protect the walls. Your men will be pardoned and will continue to serve. This is my promise to you. I’ve been assured by Rebel leader Alexir Jahn the TDU will honor this pledge.”

A brief moment of radio silence followed Spurious’ assurances.

“A lot of good men and innocent people have been killed today. It needs to end. We will accept the TDU’s conditions and will surrender.”

Spurious dropped the radio to the ground, ignoring the pieces of plastic cracking on the concrete below. He couldn’t believe what he
had heard.

His eyes scanned the faces of the squad members, all who looked equally confused and shocked
, before turning back to the building.

The fog began to part and a small ray of crimson light broke through one of the gray clouds above the Dome.
Like a miracle, the gold rooftop began to radiate light. The rebels rose from the safety of their hiding places, watching the anomaly, soaking in the rare splendor before the sun crawled back behind the cloud and the gray reclaimed the land. Through the silence a voice broke out in the distance. “They’re surrendering!”

Spurious turned to see Leo racing through the field. “Put down your weapons,
they’re surrendering!” he yelled. 

Spurious laughed at the sight of the crazy old man, his a
rms flailing joyfully about. The rebels cautiously began to put down their weapons, erupting into cheers. One by one, the men and women emerged from the fog. 

Ajax grabbed Spurious and hugged the man half his size. For a second Spu
rious couldn’t believe what happened, but as Ajax let go, Spurious realized it was real.

“Obi would be proud of you,” Ajax
said, laughing. 

Spurious smiled, not his half grin, but a full
one gleaming with joy.

“Spurious! You
’ve done it! Tisaia is now free!” Creo yelled.

The two embraced as more and more rebels surrounded them. “Spurious!”
someone began to shout.