December 19th, 29475
New diagrams came up on the projection screen at the front of the room as Lieutenant Stackpole stepped forward to continue the briefing.
“In the event that the Clans are to capture Omni-One, you are expected to capitulate and comply with all Clan directives and orders publicly by day. You will pretend to be common laborers, unconcerned with politics and only concerned with remaining safe in the new regime. At night, you are expected to gather in secret, arm and equip yourselves, and sabotage Clan defenses and facilities until such time that reinforcement from Omni-Prime arrive to relieve you. In the event that you are captured…”
The clocks arms moved slowly, and after an eternity of briefings and exercises, the reservist unit was dismissed. The sun had set and the weather was not oppressively warm, so Marisha decided to sit at the counter of the Mongol Meat rather than racing back to her apartment. As she ate, she scanned the news from the Press Corps, read about how the discussions between Ross and Radiman were going, and then turned to the horoscopes.
For a moment, everything went white, and faded back. Then the shock wave hit.
The Mongol Meat suddenly flew away from her, and the world twisted in a slow spiral before the ground rushed up to say hello. When consciousness returned, the air was full of sirens and dust. Marisha looked down at her uniform shirt for a few moments before realizing that it was covered in blood. Slowly she realized it was hers.
To the north, a cloud of dust and smoke rose.
Marisha stumbled back to the Mongol Meat in a daze. A small screen built into the counter was showing an emergency broadcast. The announcer was urging all residents of Omni-One to remain in their homes until the period of emergency was over. “To repeat,” the announcer said, “there appears to have been an anti-matter explosion in Omni-Entertainment. As the situation develops we will continue to bring you information regarding this situation. Please remain calm….” The screen faded into a gray snowstorm of interference, and was replaced by a hazy image of a man in an environmental suit.
“Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust.” The image faded again back to the news broadcast. Marisha looked away back to the cloud of dust and smoke.
“The Dust Brigade…” she muttered to herself. Her stomach gave a little heave as dim memories of a commando leaping over the improvised defensive wall and the flash of his gun before she saw her own intestines in her hands… she shook her head violently and returned to the present.
“Vallia… Vallia lives to the north.” Vallia had asked her if she could assemble an implant for her a few weeks earlier, and the two had become fast friends. Two days ago, she had invited Marisha to her apartment on the north side of the Entertainment slums. She had recently built a shrine to the Goddess, and was eager to show it off. A devout Buddhislamic, Marisha had secretly disapproved, but agreed to come over soon to see it.
She opened her com. “Open a channel to Dorotha "Vallia" Baytos.” The device chirped for a moment, then said back “Were sorry, but we can not contact your party. There may be a high call volume preventing the connection, or your party may be out of the service area. If you feel that you have reached this recording in error, please hang up and try again.”
Marisha resisted the temptation to throw the com as far as she could.
The day descended to a haze of searching. Guards had barricaded the site of the explosion, and the list of the dead or missing continued to grow. Every time the list was updated, Marisha looked for Vallia’s name. People screamed on the street corners for vengeance. One reporter claimed that Dust Brigade Commandos had paraded down the streets of Tir to the cheers of the assembled Clanners. As she passed the grid terminal, someone screamed “Grid to Tir now! We shall have vengeance upon the Clans! Their terrorism will not go unpunished!” For a moment, Marisha stood at the terminal, quietly unslinging her rifle and loading a fresh magazine.
She had never been to Tir before. The air was dusty, warmer than she expected, and the city had a smell that was very different from Omni-One. The courtyard around the grid terminal was filled with people. In the distance, she could hear shooting over the cries for vengeance. She though briefly of Vallia, then disengaged the safety.
As she looked about for the leaders who would organize the push into the city core, an amplified voice came from a nearby building. “Omni-Tek! Do not continue this course of action! By doing so, you are violating your corporations directives, and becoming no better than the terrorists that have committed this atrocity!” A fresh round of gunfire struck the side of the building in response.
With a pop of displaced air, a city guard whompaed into the crowd. He barely had time to raise his weapon before a barrage of bullets and beams cut him down. Someone in the crowd had a flame thrower, and the corpse was wreathed in fire as it slumped to the ground. For a moment, Marisha saw his face melt before his body was consumed by nanobots.
“Omni-Tek! Do not continue this course of action! By doing so, you are violating…” Marisha didn’t hear the rest of the message. She had already sunk to her knees and gave a few ragged coughs as she flung her helmet aside before vomiting the contents of her stomach onto the dusty ground. The gunfire continued, the cries for vengeance echoed around her, punctuated by the amplified voice repeating the same message over and over again.
Weak and disgusted, she rose and turned to the grid terminal.
December 19th, 29477
“I’m just surprised there was no mention of the bombing anywhere.” Marisha gently placed the Mitaar back into its case, and picked up the bottle of Omni-Cider that had been brought to her.
“How long ago was that?” Dabbles asked.
“Two years ago today.”
The crowd at Rompas murmured, and for a moment Marisha regretted mentioning such a dark incident at the Christmas party. Finally Dabbles spoke up and said “You should write something on the Buzz about it.”
Marisha looked away as a feeling of nausea passed over her, and said nothing.
