The morning has dawned in New Damascus, as an emergency call from the Berlin Sector comes in, informing the communications office of the discovery that was made. It is 0800 when an officer races to inform Andrew Sawyer, Councilor and Commander in Chief of the Militia, the news, as all events of major importance are to be reported to him and the other four Councilors..............
Andrew was sitting at the table of his home in the south district of New Damascus. The house was little more than hut really, scraped together with various materials used to create the walls and roofing over their heads while the rest of the house was once previously a portion of a much bigger building. He, his wife, Jessica, and his four year old son, Jacob, were all sitting down, enjoying breakfast when Andrew noticed that his son wasn't eating and instead seemed to be scribbling something down on a scrap of paper. He leaned over to get a better look at it. The paper looked to be a drawing, depicting what resembled to be their home and three figures standing in front, which he assumed were supposed to represent the three of them. They were archaic and disproportionate, as to be expected from the craft of a four-year old.
"What's that, Jake?" Andrew asked with a smile.
His son instantly stopped drawing to acknowledge his father. With an eager look, he grabbed the paper, turning it around to show his parents what he had made.
"I made a picture!" he said, his voice filled with innocence. "Mrs. Tanaka wanted us draw pictures of our families, that's you Mommy, and this is you, Daddy, you're next to me!"
Andrew and Jessica couldn't resist smiling while their son was pointing to each of them. Such innocence was precious in the world as it was. However he noticed something off in the figure placement.
"Why's Mommy all the way on the other side of the page?"
"My friend, Tyler. He says girls have cooties!"
Jessica and Andrew giggled at the statement.
"Cooties, huh?" he said smiling. "Then I'm guessing you don't like it when me and Mommy do this?"
He leaned over to Jessica with lips puckered, she in turn, returned the favor, and the two partook in an over-dramatic kiss, getting the desired reaction out of their son. He had his hands covering his eyes and was swaying his head back and forth profusely.
"Eck!" he said in disgust, with his tongue sticking out for good measure.
His parents turned away from their kiss and back towards him, with Jessica getting up from her seat and walking around the table to her son. She crouched down beside him, gently taking the picture from his hands.
"It's absolutely wonderful, Jake. Thank you." she said, giving him a kiss on the cheek. "Now, while I go hang this up in the living room, you get to finish your breakfast! When you’re done you can grab your book-bag and I'll walk you to school."
Jake complied and finally began to dig into the bowl of oatmeal that was in front of him.
"Make sure you eat all of it, Jake." said Andrew. "Don't let any go to waste."
Andrew knew that Jacob was getting a little sick of oatmeal, but he wanted to make sure that he was eating enough every day. Thankfully, Jake managed to eat through it all rather quickly.
"Daddy, can we have something else for breakfast tomorrow?" asked Jacob.
"I'm sorry buddy, I don't get to really choose what we get to eat."
"But Mommy says you're a councilor, can't you ask the food people for something else?"
"Yes, but even I have to follow the rules like everyone else. No pickings. We get what we get-"
"And we don't throw a fit." said Jacob, finishing his father's sentence.
"That's right." he said cheerfully.
Jessica came back in the room after hanging the drawing on what they liked to call, "The Family Collection". Just one side of the living room wall dotted with the few treasured photos, documents, and mementos they owned.
"All finished, Jake?" she asked, noticing his bowl was now empty.
Jacob nodded his head. His mother took up the dish and placed in a tub for it to be washed later.
"Alright Jake, go get your bag and get ready for school."
As Jacob left the table and went to his room to get his things, Jessica sat by her husband at the table.
"So, what does my esteemed commander have in store for today?" she asked with curiosity.
"Well, I thought since my next meeting with the council isn't until next week and I've read over every report at my desk last night, that I'd stop by the warehouse and count inventory, been needing to do that for awhile now."
"What about the supply shortage?"
"I've done everything I possibly can, Jess. Priority orders for the Militia now are to scout out locations that might yield the supplies we need. Hospitals, supermarkets, et cetera. Problem is, a lot of these places have been completely picked clean. That, or whatever was in them got destroyed during the war."
"Any sort of plan for the long run?"
"Science branch is working with the Agricultural branch on some sort of new farming technique, but it's only in the development stages."
"Well that's some good news at least." she said with relief.
Andrew however knew that her relief was misplaced. The project seemed to be meeting disastrous results for months. The soil was just too irradiated to make any sort of progress, but he preferred to leave his wife on a good note today.
"So, you'll just be counting up all the tanks we have scrounged up over the years?" she asked. "That doesn't sound like much work."
"It's not just the tanks, it's all the vehicles we have. Tanks, APCs, IFVs, planes, helicopters, guns, artillery, trucks, and all the fuel, ammo, and replacement parts that come with them. A lot of counting and a lot boredom required."
Even though Andrew was the leader of the Militia, and one of the five councilors, he still had to do his part by doing some of the menial day-to-day tasks that were required of the others in society, all the councilors did. Being councilor never meant you got any special privileges or luxuries, their duty was to aid and represent the people, not rule them.
"Boring, huh?" said Jessica.
Jessica motioned over to him, her arms now hanging over his shoulders, her face now close to his, and with a devilish grin on her face.
"Well, maybe after you get back tonight and Jake's in bed asleep, we can have a little fun of our own to combat that boredom?"
He himself was now aroused and smiling deviously.
"Oh, I would love that." he said, giving her a kiss of affection.
"With that little notion in mind, I look forward to the end of my day. Besides, with what's happening, I'll take boring over busy, any day." he said.
But before he could say another word to his wife, a loud knock came from their front door, followed by a faint voice calling, "Commander Sawyer." Andrew's expression turned from optimistic to dreadful at the sudden disturbance. A knock this early only meant one thing, the Council.
"Me and my goddamn mouth." he scowled.
Jessica now was off of her husband to let him answer the door. Andrew got up from his seat and walked to open the front door to see what the Council wanted from him this time. When he opened the door, it was Lieutenant Makhanya, a man of his own Militia, who greeted him, which was unexpected. Most of the time when the Council needed him to do something they sent one of the messengers from the Peace and Justice branch. The man stood at attention and gave a salute.
"Sir." he said.
"Lieutenant." He said, returning the salute. "What's this about? Why are you here so early?"
"You need to come with me at once, sir. The Council has been called into emergency session."
"What for?" Andrew asked.
"I can't say here sir, it will be explained once we've reached the Council Building."
Andrew wasn't at all expecting this, the Council rarely called for emergency session, he figured it must be something big. He let out a sigh.
"Alright, give me a few minutes to get ready.
"Yes, sir. I'll be waiting by the car." he said. And with that he returned to his vehicle.
Andrew shut the door and turned around to grab the things he needed, passing Jessica and entering their bedroom. In the corner of the room stood a small, beat-up, plastic chest. He opened it to grab the two badges of office he required for official council meetings. An old green beret, with the Survivor's seal sewn on it, five arms arranged in a pentagon, grasping one another by the wrist.
And lastly, an old holster belt, with an M1911 strapped into it. As Andrew donned the beret and fastened the belt around his waist, Jacob and Jessica entered the room. Andrew turned around to greet the two.
"Hey, Jake." he said with a smile. "All ready for school?"
"Yeah."
"Good. Give Daddy a hug and kiss goodbye, I've gotta go."
He hugged his son, and gave him a kiss on the cheek, sending him on his way. He then transitioned over to his wife giving her third, but quickest, kiss this morning.
"Hey." she said, placing a hand on his chest. "You try and have a good day, okay?"
"I'll try. I'll see you and Jake later tonight."
And with that Andrew was out of the house and making his way down to the vehicle waiting for him.
Andrew and the Lieutenant drove for about half an hour when they reached the gates of the Council Building. Formerly, it was known as the Presidential Palace of the Syrian President, and being that it was one of the few buildings that was still standing when Damascus got hit in 2054, The Survivors saw it as the ideal place for the heart of their new government. Inside, housed the council meeting chambers, the Science Branch's research lab, The Militia's intelligence network and communication center, and the Preservation Branch's archives. For twenty years this building has served as a beacon of hope for humanity, proving that even in the aftermath of nuclear war, they could band together, and still progress.
The car drove under the main gateway and up the road to the front entrance of the structure. As he exited the vehicle, Lieutenant Makhanya walked beside him. After passing the front doors, they entered the Atrium area, which at the moment was bustling with various people heading to and fro, attending to their own schedules.
"Sir, I have to inform you that the meeting is taking place in the communications room." said the Lieutenant.
"The Comms room? We getting a call?"
"Yes sir, live feed communication from Berlin. Very urgent."
Andrew was left pondering what might have happened. His previous worry was that supplies had finally run dry, but if the emergency was in Berlin it had nothing to do with the shortage. Last he read about that sector was that it was getting easier and easier to traverse through. That, and a report of two men trying to launch a pressure cooker into space, which he found strange. But other than that, nothing really big happened around that area. As the two climbed up the staircase and took a right down a hallway, they were greeted by two guards at the entrance to the communication room. They both gave a salute to their superiors. Both Andrew and the Lieutenant returned a salute, and were given entry as the two guards opened the doors for them. Inside was the Communications room, one of the last places on Earth that still had working computers. Along the walls of the room stood multiple server racks, each one used for communication with the multiple, outposts, forts, and forward operating bases that now dotted the wasteland. Without them the survivors would have never been able to reach out as far as they had. Inside sat the comms officers at their designated monitors, and of course stood the rest of the Council, who seemed to have been waiting for Andrew's arrival.
"Councilor Sawyer, it is good to see you could make it." said Councilor Patel.
Councilor Patel was representative of the branch of Peace and Justice. She had been at this position for about 12 years, and she became well respected within The Survivors community. However, she was an extremely stubborn negotiator, and always seemed to be at odds with Andrew when it came to decision making.
"Councilors. You maybe want to tell me what happened in Berlin?"
The Councilors looked at one another, then back to Andrew.
"Perhaps you should ask the men in Berlin what happened, he's refused to give us any information until your arrival." she said.
Andrew looked to his Lieutenant, who in turn starting informing one of his men, in Afrikaans, to bring up the live feed. Once he was done, he pointed to a television monitor hanging on the wall. It had a video camera at its top.
"Communication received, sir." said one of the computer operators. "Live feed should commence shortly."
As Andrew looked at the screen it began to flicker on. Once the picture had come in decently enough he stepped forward into the camera's angle. On the screen was an Arabic man, with a chin strap beard and a shemagh wrapped around his head like a skullcap. He gave a salute, indicating he was receiving the live feed on his end.
"Commander Sawyer, sir!"
Andrew returned with a salute of his own.
"At ease, soldier. Name, rank, and unit?"
"Corporal Ahab Al-Kindi, sir, 3rd Motorized Infantry Company."
Andrew found it odd that the commanding officer wouldn't be the one he was speaking with, as it was customary to do so when addressing the Council.
"Where's your CO, Corporal?"
"She's currently assessing the situation at hand, sir."
"Corporal, what exactly happened over there?"
Ahab cleared his throat as he began to relay the story.
"Two of our men, Private Timothy Berfield and Private First Class Achmed Sabbag, had been ordered to scavenge medical supplies from what we thought was a pre-war hospital. Suffice to say it wasn't. According to Private Sabbag, the building they were searching was some sort of research facility. He also noted that it still had working power, and an elevator shaft that led thirty floors underground."
“Holy shit, that sounds like a pretty big find already, must have its own generators.” thought Andrew.
He looked over to the other councilors who at the moment were waiting patiently, with the exception of Councilor Bradford, representative of the branch of Science, who looked eager to hear more of the news.
"Continue on, son." announced Andrew.
"The two decided to perform a floor-by-floor search of the facility starting from the 30th floor. When they reached the bottom, they discovered some sort of large arch-like device. They were about to radio in to inform our CO of the discovery, when Private Sabbag was attacked by an unseen mutant behind him. In the confusion that followed, Private Sabbag unintentionally activated it. He managed to deactivate it shortly afterwards, but not before Private Berfield seemed to have been, as he put it, "sucked in" by the device. Since then, Private Berfield's whereabouts are currently unknown."
Andrew and the others were silent.
“What the hell did they find?” Andrew thought to himself.
He had worked with the little bits of advanced technology leftover from the war, but nothing like what was being described here. It didn't sound like a weapon, but rather like something out of science fiction movie.
"Say that again, Corporal, you said he was "sucked in?"
"Yes, sir. After the incident, Private Sabbag contacted our CO requesting backup. When we arrived, we linked up with Sabbag, and proceeded into the room where the device was being held. It looks like one serious piece of hardware. My CO instructed me to return to the outpost and inform you and the rest of the Council of it."
Andrew started getting a feeling of curiosity. He then made an impulsive move.
"Corporal, inform your CO to take as many men as she needs and secure that building. Collect everything you can from it, documents, equipment, everything. Search the remaining floors and have everything prepared for my arrival."
The other councilors were shocked! He had just made the sudden decision to leave New Damascus without any of their consent. Even Ahab, was shocked by his sudden move he had just made, it's not every day the commander of your own armed forces stops by for a visit.
"Uh...understood, sir. Outpost Bravo, out."
And with that the feed cut out, returning to being once more just a black screen. When Andrew turned around, the expressions he received were mixed. If looks could kill, Councilor Patel was practically firing an M16 in Andrew's direction. Councilor Bradford seemed to be the only one not really fazed too much from the sudden decision, in fact it kind of looked like he was subtly smiling. The other two Councilors, Schafer and Yeong, looked more confused than angry. Andrew decided that the comms room really wasn't the best place to have this conversation.
"Let's continue this session in the meeting room, shall we?"
The meeting room was usually a place where cool heads would prevail. But in today's case, this wasn't true. The five councilors sat at a large round table, to discuss the reasoning for Andrew's sudden and unexpected decision to leave.
"You want to leave at a time like this!" shouted Councilor Patel. "Have you forgotten that you have duties to perform here, Commander?!"
"I'm very well aware of my responsibilities Councilor, I don't need you reminding me." he said with a stern, yet calm tone.
"Commander, we are suffering from shortages in everything and you want to take an excursion to look at this thing your men stumbled upon by chance?"
"Well I for one don't see any sort of issue at all." stated Councilor Bradford. "In fact, I want to accompany Councilor Sawyer to see this marvel for myself. This is sounding like a discovery for the history books!"
"That won't be possible if we're all dead from starvation, now will it?!" she declared.
"She has a point." said Councilor Yeong. "We've been rationing as much as we can without stooping down to ridiculous portions. But at the current rate, we'll run out, and soon!"
"Councilor Patel, Councilor Yeong. Bradford and I are very well aware of the shortages and we are doing everything in our power to help alleviate this crisis. But the fact remains that a new technology has been discovered. Not to mention, one of my men is currently MIA because of this thing." said Andrew.
"You're willing to put multiple lives at risk, for the sake of one man?" asked Patel.
"Nobody's going to die if I take a look at this thing, are they? So what exactly is the problem?"
"The Problem, Commander, is that you have a responsibility in New Damascus, keeping order in the city in case something happens."
He could see where she was coming from. When food and water finally did run out, there was going to be hell to pay. New Damascus could possibly have to deal with mass riots, which probably wouldn't end well for any of them. But the shortage was being dealt with professionally, Bradford had assured them that the shortage wouldn't see any real critical levels until late into next year.
"Councilor Patel, I'm sure New Damascus can survive my absence for a few days. I'd like to oversee the operation myself, and as Commander of the Militia, it's within my power to do so."
"I can understand if Bradford went over to take a look at it, but what's your stake in it?"
Andrew couldn't really answer that. The decision was made on an impulse. Something just kept telling him he needed to see this thing himself. He didn't know what it even did. But he came up with an answer regardless.
"Call it a hunch, but I believe that this thing might be able help us somehow. And secondly, if my men are the ones who discovered it and have been effected by it, I always have a stake in it."
She didn't take that comment kindly. It was surprising that the two had never come to blows or violence, and both prayed it would stay that way.
"A hunch? That's what you’re basing your decision on? A hunch?"
"Enough of this bickering!" announced Councilor Schafer.
"Supply shortages aside, one of our duties as the last of humanity is to preserve whatever we can, that includes technology. This device sounds like something we could use to our advantage. I say let Sawyer and Bradford take a look at it. Bradford, can you assemble a science team to accompany you, yes?"
"I can get everyone and everything we need, together" he said.
"Very good. Sawyer, I assume you'll arrange transport?"
"I can have a C-130 on the airstrip ready to go by tomorrow morning."
"Good, it's settled. Sawyer and Bradford will depart tomorrow morning at the most readily available time. Now with that said, I can safely agree that this session is adjourned?"
The Councilors gave each other nods of approval, even Patel, who seemed to be dissatisfied with the outcome.
"I thought so, Council adjourned."
With that, they all got up from their seats and exited the room, however before Andrew could do the same, Councilor Patel came over to him.
"Commander, a word in private, if I may."
Andrew saw this as most unusual, as he never talked with her before in private. He saw that the room had been emptied, leaving them the only two people in the room.
"What is it Councilor?"
"I know it seems like I'm always trying to challenge you, but I don't hate you. I just think you don't think things through. I'm not here to persuade you to stay, but I just wanted to let you know that we need each other if this council is going to survive. I need you to work with me every once in a while, and in turn I will do the same for you. I thought I'd just let that out."
Andrew had thought that was surprisingly friendly of her, considering how it was coming from his Council rival. He had to admit, that without her he'd probably be labelled a dictator, considering he was commander of the Militia, he'd have more power than the rest of the Council. As he thought about it more, he strangely got the urge to comply.
"I have to admit, we get more things accomplished when we're on the same page. And I'm just as worried about the shortage as you are, remember, I have a little boy back home. I don't wish to see him, or anyone else go hungry."
"Then you see why I was pressuring you to stay."
"I do, and with no hard feelings towards it. Alright Councilor, you have a deal. Next time I'll try to be more lenient towards your side of the argument."
She smiled slightly.
"Thank you, Commander. I wish you a safe travel."
And with that she left the room. Leaving Andrew to the task of arranging a transport to Berlin.
Later that evening, Andrew returned home. After a morning of scheduling a flight for him and Bradford's science team, and an afternoon of informing all personnel that would be leaving tomorrow, he was ready for that fun, Jessica had promised. As he was dropped off and walked up to the door, and entered his home. Jessica just got done cleaning dishes from the day when she noticed her husband's arrival.
"Hey sweetheart." she said with affection, welcoming him home with a kiss.
The two went into the living room to sit down on the old couch, to talk about the day's events.
"How was today's session?"
"Surprising, to say the least. The men stationed in Berlin seemed to have found some sort of new technology that looks important."
"Ooh! Sounds like Bradford's going to have fun with that-"
"I'm going too, Jess."
She looked at him with astonishment in her eyes.
"You're leaving? When?"
"Tomorrow morning, I have a plane scheduled to leave at 0600."
"Why?"
"Something about this is seems way too important to ignore, Jess. I got a gut feeling about it, I want to see it for myself. It may be nothing but, I have to know for sure."
"I......don't know what to say, how long will you be gone?"
"Hopefully less than a week. Don't worry, you'll see me again soon."
She just looked at him with a worried look. She cared for his well-being and a week-long vacation out in the Wasteland didn't sound safe to her.
"If you think it's best."
He caught that she was getting worried.
"Hey, listen. Berlin is one of the safer regions in the wastes, the mutants have practically cleared out of the area. Plus I'll have an entire company of soldiers at my side the whole time. I'll be safe."
"Okay. Just, don't do anything dangerous, please. You know it'll scare the hell out of me."
That made Andrew chuckle.
"Don't worry Jess, you know very well my fighting days are over."
With that, their son Jacob came into the room, garbed in his pajamas.
"Daddy?"
Andrew got up from the couch, and whisked his son into his arms.
"Hey kiddo, what are you doing up, it's late."
"Guess he heard you come in." said Jessica.
"Come on, let's get you back into bed."
With that his father walked a short distance into his room, gently setting his son on the bed, and covering him up with the blankets.
"Daddy, where are you going?" He asked with tired eyes.
Andrew figured he must have overheard their conversation.
"Daddy's got to go somewhere for a while. But don't worry, I'll be back."
"Okay." yawned Jacob. "Goodnight Daddy."
"Goodnight buddy."
And with that he gave his son a quick kiss on the forehead and closed his door shut. He went back to the living room where Jessica was still sitting. He sat down next to her once more.
"So." she asked with devious intent. "You ready to combat boredom?"
"But the night is so young." He said sarcastically.
The two began to giggle, as they got up and went to their bedroom. Once inside, Andrew took off the beret and slipped off his belt. Jessica undid the ponytail in her hair, and closed the door behind her.