Chapter Nineteen: Stage One of the Plan

Carlisle, Celeste and a few soldiers stood in a room that was locally known as The Glasshouse. It was known as that because the walls of the room were almost entirely glass. Against the back wall was what Celeste knew was some sort of restaurant place, a continuous counter ran from one side of the room to the other and The Glasshouse itself was built into the grandstand

‘We have no food Ma’am’ Carlisle told Celeste.

‘You mean there’s no food here. Military personnel would have rations in their packs, correct?’ Celeste replied.

‘Yes, but not a lot. If we ration it properly, we have two maybe three days worth of food, tops’ Carlisle replied.

‘Then we’ll get some more’ Celeste replied

‘And how are we supposed to do that?’ a soldier replied. ‘The roads are completely flooded and the ground is like quicksand’

‘Private’ Carlisle said, turning around.

‘Yes sir?’

‘Shut up,’ Carlisle responded. ‘He does have a point though’ he added, walking over to window, overlooking the race track.

‘You’ll divide the soldiers and able bodied civilians into teams. I want civilians and soldiers together in all teams, understand. There may be food in the freezers that wasn’t transported. Any food found will be stored in or near a food outlet, Understand?’ Celeste said.

‘Yes ma’am, but any food we find will most likely be bags of chips and frozen meat patties’ Carlisle said.

‘I know, but it’s better than no food. Use a phone in one of the outlets to ring here if you find any, understand?’ Celeste said.

‘Yes ma’am’ Carlisle said, talking the soldiers outside the Glasshouse. Celeste sighed, sitting herself down in a chair.

‘Come on Jason’ She said quietly to herself.

‘The freeway is flooded so much it’s effectively part of the river now. We can move by land but it will be slow’ Miles told him.

‘Well you lot better get moving. You have about sixteen hours of daylight to get there’ Jason replied.

‘Jason! You are going to get yourself-‘

‘Captain, I need to you take those soldiers and leave now’ Jason replied.

‘Sir-‘

‘Now’ Jason said, staring Miles down, who eventually backed off and took the soldiers North. Jason walked west, back towards the showgrounds. Sarah and the others were taken from there, so if he was captured there, he had the best possible chance of ending up in the same place as them. He moved slowly and cautiously. He didn’t want to be caught by the Tallentiri too early, and there could be Nexus forces our looking to survivors. The minutes slowly melded into hours as Jason finally reached the area surrounding the showgrounds. It was truly an apocalyptic scene; the showgrounds had been reduced to absolutely nothing. Just three deep craters in the ground and the remnants of buildings and walls in scorched earth. Spot fires were still burning and the surrounding had also been affected. Some buildings had been either partially damaged or completely destroyed. There was shattered glass all over the road, which crunched under his feet, smoke still hung in the air making everything look slightly grey. And then he heard it; the distinct sound of exoskeletal feet of concrete, the feet of the Tallentiri searching. Well, he wasn’t going to make it too easy for them. Jason moved quickly to an open area and fired three rounds upwards. Almost immediately Tallentiri began moving out from behind buildings all around him.

‘Come on you alien bastards. Let’s dance’ Jason said to himself. Jason pulled the trigger but heard the empty clicking noise.

‘Oh you have got to be kidding me Carlisle!’ Jason yelled, tossing away the rifle and running at the ruins of an empty building. When he exited the other side, he jumped and planted his right foot into the abdomen of a Tallentiri, before landing and continued running. Left, right, left, right, left, right, Jason weaved his way through the ruins of buildings.

‘Shit’ Jason said as he discovered his path blocked when he turned into an alleyway. Two buildings had collapsed, leaving a wreckage too steep to climb. Jason pulled out the service revolver and checked the bullets.

‘Five shots, five kills’ He said turning around, readying the revolver waiting for the Tallentiri to come around the corner. the next Jason knew was immense pain and then blackness.

The telephone rang.

‘Yes?’ Celeste answered.

‘We haven’t found any food as of yet,’ Carlisle’s voice replied. ‘but we did find water, along with other drinks’

‘Well, how much water did you find?’ Celeste asked.

‘I’m not sure in terms of volume, but probably enough for a couple of weeks’ Carlisle responded.

‘Store it’ Celeste ordered.

‘Yes ma’am’ Carlisle said before hanging up.

‘Celeste?’ a voice called out.

‘What is it? Celeste replied.

‘I’m not sure. I’m seeing flashes of light. Could be some sort of signal’

‘Directed at us Nathan?’ Celeste asked.

‘Yes’

‘Then it’ll be them telling us they’re on they’re way’ Celeste replied, as she got up and walked up the stairs to the third and final floor. She saw Nathan standing at a far window, holding a pair of binoculars in his light brown hand.

‘Where?’ Celeste asked.

‘Apartment blocks on top of the tunnel’ Nathan answered, pointing in the direction. Celeste focused the binoculars on the block of apartments. The light she received back was dim but none-the-less obvious.

‘It’s not random. It’s definitely a signal. Have we sent a signal back?’ Celeste asked.

‘Not yet. We don’t know if’s really them’ Nathan replied.

‘No one else knows we’re here. That light is directed at us. Send the light signal’ Celeste ordered.

‘If it’s not them-‘

‘We’ll know soon enough, send it’ Celeste ordered again.

Hours passed before they arrived and the soldiers were welcomed back by their peers.

‘What’s going on in Perth?’ was the first question asked of them in the hailstorm of words, but only Celeste seemed to notice they were one short.

‘Where’s Jason?’ she asked.

‘He chose to stay behind’ Captain Miles answered her, before leaving and making his inside the building.

Chapter Eighteen: A Rift Grows

The weight of the situation was hitting Jason now. Without radio communication, they had no idea if the others had left or even if they were still alive. The Tallentiri would be searching for them now to either kill them or capture them. On top of that Jason had the guilt of knowing that he had failed Celeste who, Jason realised now, he was slowly falling for. And now he had no one to watch the military network he could trust. If the spy knew that was Claire was taken, they would know that they now have free access to the network. As much as he hated Claire, no one deserved to be taken by the Tallentiri.

‘It’ll be dark soon. It was late when we left’ Miles said.

‘Yeah. I don’t think we’ll make it before dark’ Jason replied.

‘So where do we go?’ a soldier asked. They had stopped in the middle of the freeway.

‘Parliament House’ Jason replied.

‘That’s incredibly dangerous, sir’ Miles told him.

‘Every second we stay here is dangerous. We’re in Tallentiri territory now. We certainly won’t get out of here today or tonight. At least there we have cover and a defensible position’ Jason retorted.

‘Maybe we should just keep moving. If we stay in the one place, it just gives them more time to find us’ another soldier said.

‘All the more reason to stay there’ Jason said.

‘You did hear him right?’ Miles said.

‘Yes I did. But they are more active in the dark, move in larger numbers. If we tried to move during the night, we’d certainly be caught. At Parliament House, we’re under cover, we’ll have food and water. Certainly better defended than if we stay here’ Jason replied. There was silence for a few moments.

‘Fine, we get in and go to the top floor’ Miles said, with a hint of command in his voice, which Jason chose to let slide.

‘If they’re not there now’ a soldier said.

‘They won’t be. They’re too busy with Perth, they won’t be watching the outer buildings’ Jason told them.

When they arrived, what Jason said was in fact true; the building was deserted, but had no power.

‘I don’t suppose there’s any stairs in the place?’ Miles asked, standing in the middle of the marble floor.

‘Not that leads all the way up. The kitchen is also protected electronically’ Jason answered.

‘How do you know that?’ A soldier asked him.

‘I was here a few weeks prior to the invasion. School excursion’ Jason replied.

‘We should go up as far as we can’ Miles said.

‘Yes we should. We stay in the upper Gallery. There’s only one entrance in, easy to defend, but I doubt we’ll need to’ Jason agreed.

‘That’ll be uncomfortable. Sleep on the floor or chairs-‘

‘I’m sorry, I thought that was part of survival training. I remember because I was there for that part’ Jason cut across the soldier. ‘I’m going up there, feel free to join me after you’ve grown a pair’ and without a second glance, Jason made his way to the stairs and walked up to the third floor, the highest he could go without elevator access. He opened the door carefully, barrel first, his body slowly behind. The deep green walls and the Jarrah wood backs of the chairs with deep green cushioning greeted him as he discovered that the room was empty. He walked over to the railing and looked down to the rows below where the politicians would sit, argue and get nothing done. Jason walked back, collapsing onto one the chairs, sighing and letting the gun fall to the floor.

‘You wanna tell me what that was about?’ Miles said, walking up behind.

‘Not particularly, Captain’ Jason replied. Miles sighed and sat down next to him.

‘Ok. You lost someone under your command. It happens. But you are the commanding officer. You don’t get to feel sorry for yourself. You have to move on for the sake of those you lead. Understand?’ Miles told him.

‘That’s the thing. I didn’t lose just one person. I lost ninety people in total, possibly more’ Jason replied.

‘I’m going to give you some advice I was given a while ago, by your father. A good commander isn’t so callous that he stops caring, but just enough so he can keep going,’ Miles said. ‘The other soldiers and I are going to check out a few more rooms, see if there’s any other food anywhere in the building and then we’ll come up’ Miles added before walking off.

‘I’m going back for them. Two in particular but I plan to get as many out as possible’ Jason said. Captain Miles stopped at the door.

‘That’s suicide’ he said.

‘I have to try. I’ll leave tomorrow morning’ Jason replied.

‘Who’s in command?’ Miles asked.

‘After I leave, you are. Until you get to the racecourse. Celeste is in charge there’ Jason told him.

‘Alright, sir, you need to stop this. She is not command material’ Miles said.

‘She’s the only person I can trust, one hundred percent’ Jason replied, looking up at Miles.

‘What about Carlisle?’ Miles asked.

‘Not one hundred percent. Look, I can’t tell you how or why I don’t trust him, because I don’t trust you’ Jason said.

‘You don’t trust me’

‘There are very people I can trust. Don’t get me wrong, I think you’re a trustworthy person-‘

‘Then why can’t you trust me?’ Miles retorted. Jason stood up, walked over and held the door open for Miles.

‘I thought you were just leaving’ Jason said to him, dangerously. Miles stared him down.

‘Yes sir’ Miles replied, malevolently and left the room. Jason heard thunder outside the building.

‘Great,’ Jason sighed, walking back over and sitting down in the seat. ‘A storm is just perfect right now’

Chapter Seventeen: Vantage Point

The sight of a roof of a tent met Jason’s eyes as he awoke.

‘Oh good, you’re awake’ said Sergeant Carlisle who, Jason discovered, was watching him from the far corner.

‘Could be worse’ Jason replied, groaning as he sat up due to a stabbing pain across his stomach.

‘That’s true. You could’ Carlisle responded.

‘So what happened? The last thing I remember was hearing planes overhead-’ Jason began.

‘That was four days ago. It was an airstrike’ Carlisle told him.

‘I thought they didn’t want to kill us’

‘They didn’t, but once the Tallentiri collapsed the shield, they didn’t have a choice. We became their acceptable losses’ Carlisle replied.

‘How many did we lose?’ Jason asked, slowly pulling himself to his feet.

‘Ten. Eighty plus are missing and presumed captured, including Celeste’s sister Sarah and your accomplice Claire Stantone’ Carlisle told him. Jason’s head was spinning. He remembered Sarah being taken, but he thought Claire might’ve been safe.

‘Anything else I should know?’ Jason asked, carefully balancing his step.

‘Celeste has put herself in command as you did give her command before you stayed to defend the Showground’s, which no one blames you for losing; there was nothing you could’ve done. After the airstrike, those who survived came here, to the bush land near Sir Charles Gardiner. Subiaco Oval was also hit and destroyed. So far as we know, no one survived and no one has heard from Lieutenant Williams’ Carlisle replied. Jason nodded.

‘Alright, well I’m gonna take a walk’ Jason said as he left the tent.

There was a cool wind outside. The sea breeze had rolled in and sunset was approaching. The floor crunched underneath Jason’s feet as he walked. He looked at the people as he passed. Those with a camping background had set up campfires. Others were simply stared blankly through the trees, into the distance. Some even tried to smile at him as he passed. Finally, Jason noticed a group of people huddled together, out of the way. One of them, he noticed, was Celeste. Gradually he made his over and they stopped talking when a stick cracked under his foot. They turned and looked him. The people were a mixture of civilians and military. Suddenly, Celeste launched herself at him, knocking him down a bank behind him he hadn’t noticed.

‘You bastard!’ Celeste yelled as she lay into him, her punches connecting faster than his arms could block them. Eventually the people she was speaking with pulled her away.

‘Celeste, I need you to calm down’ Jason said. He immediately regretted saying that.

‘CALM DOWN!’ Celeste bellowed at him. ‘SARAH IS GONE BECAUSE OF YOU!’ she tried to launch herself at him again, but was held back. ‘Let me go!’ she yelled at the others.

‘Celeste, I need you to listen to me, ok? Can you do that?’ Jason said carefully.

‘Make it fast’ Celeste replied, malevolently.

‘There was nothing I could’ve done. I tried to reach her, to protect her. But the Tallentiri… they pushed me back before I could get close’

‘That doesn’t change the fact that Sarah could be dead, because you broke your promise!’ Celeste snapped back.

‘I tried to stop it, ok? I tried. I know I failed, but there is a possibility that Sarah is alive’ Jason said, standing up

‘A slim chance’

‘Yes. Look, I realise that I am the last person you probably want to talk to, but I really need to talk to you in private’ Jason told her.

‘Dismissed,’ she said to the people holding her. They slowly left. ‘You have five minutes. After that, I start screaming again’ she added.

‘The spy-’

‘Oh not this again’ Celeste began.

‘I thought you agreed with me’ Jason said.

‘Things change’ Celeste replied.

‘The spy is military,’ Jason continued. ‘Parts of that envelope make sense now. My dad figured out who the spy was. The spy inturn conspired to have him killed, so dad left me that information in his private quarters, which only military knew about. The spy tried to steal the information back, but we got there first. Stealing that envelope was as much about providing the Nexus with information as it was protecting his identity. Don’t you see? My dad wasn’t warning against the military. He was warning us of a Nexus plot. He knew this would happen’ Jason said. Celeste thought it over for a minute.

‘I’m not saying you are, but if you’re right-’

‘We can’t trust anyone. Any soldier could be the enemy’

‘That still isn’t proof. Its conjecture’ Celeste replied.

‘The airstrike is proof’

‘It’s still a theory, Jason. The Nexus called in the airstrike because they were overrun by the Tallentiri’ Celeste told him.

‘I’m right about this. And I’m gonna fix my broken promise’ Jason replied.

‘How?’ Celeste asked.

‘I’m going to bring her back. And I’m taking back command’ Jason told her sternly.

‘If you want to get yourself killed, go ahead. As for command, I don’t want it, it’s yours’ Celeste told him. Jason stood up.

‘You’re angry at me, I get that. If the situation was reversed I’d be pissed too. But I do not have a death wish, despite what you might think. There’s one thing we should do first’ Jason replied.

‘Keep moving?’

‘Ok, two things. Have you set up some kind of meeting place?’ Jason asked.

‘The main tent. It’s the largest one, you can’t miss it’ Celeste answered.

‘Alright, I want you to go there. I’ll be there in about five minutes’ Jason as he made his way back up the bank.

‘Jason’ Carlisle, who was approaching from the tents, said

‘Celeste gave me command. Bring twenty soldiers to the main tent. Celeste and I will be waiting there’ Jason told him.

‘Yes sir’ Carlisle said and he left to get the soldiers. Jason headed straight to the tent and waited with Celeste.

‘Right,’ Jason said as the soldiers entered the tent. ‘We have an advantage right now. No one’s looking for us. The Nexus thinks we’re dead and the rest of the military thinks we’re captured. They’ll know about the airstrike and what happened just prior to it. That doesn’t mean that Tallentiri aren’t in the area looking for us. So here’s what we’re going to do. Kings Park isn’t too far from here and provides a decent vantage point of Perth. As we know, from the intelligence we received from the last group of Civilians to arrive at the showgrounds, Perth is under Tallentiri control. Six of you will come with me and do a recon of the city, find out what they’re doing there. The rest of you will pack up this place and move towards Belmont. The racecourse there is large enough to hold several thousand people. Raid any food storages along the way’ Jason said.

‘What will you do afterwards?’ Carlisle asked.

‘We’ll make our way along the river. Once we know what’s going on in the Perth, we’ll know what to do’ Jason replied. Jason looked around the tent. The soldiers were of various ranks; ranging from Private to Sergeant Carlisle himself.

‘Any volunteers to go to King’s Park?’ Jason asked. No one answered. ‘Ok. One, two, three, four, five, six, you’re with me. The rest of you go help pack’ the soldiers that Jason picked reluctantly followed him out of the tent.

‘So how do we get there, sir?’ one of soldiers asked.

‘We’ll head North, through the bushes to the main road. Once there, we’ll head East and follow the road, should take us straight there. Did anyone recover my weapon?’ the soldiers shook their heads. Jason saw Carlisle exit the tent.

‘Carlisle!’ Jason shouted, running over to him. ‘I need your weapon’

‘Sir?’

‘That was an order, Sergeant’ Jason said.

‘Yes sir’ Carlisle said, handing his weapon over.

‘What is it?’

‘MT fourteen hundred Assault Rifle. Latest military issue,’ Carlisle replied. ‘It has a kick so keep the stock against your shoulder’

‘Thank you. Off you go’ Jason said. Carlisle rejoined his group of soldiers and Jason walked back in the direction of his and then into the bush.

King’s Park unfolded itself before them. The lush green grass made no noise under heels of the boots.

‘Alright. Fifteen minutes and then we follow the Swan River north. Understand?’ Jason asked.

‘Yes sir’ the soldiers replied.

‘We should split up sir. One group heads to the observation deck, the other to Memorial Wall. See the city two different heights and angles’ one the soldiers said.

‘You are?’

‘Captain Miles’ Miles replied.

‘Alright Captain. You take one group to Memorial Wall, I’ll take the other to the Observation deck’ Jason replied. Captain Miles took three of the soldiers with him and moved away from Jason. Jason took the remaining two soldiers with him to the wooden structure built out of the side of the hill, overlooking the city. One thing stood out immediately; a large collection of skyscrapers had been torn down in the city centre, but from their distance and altitude they couldn’t see much else.

‘Anybody got some spare coin?’ Jason asked. One of the soldiers handed over some gold coins.

‘That’s all I have’ he said.

‘Right, thank you’ Jason replied, pushing a coin into a pair of public binoculars mounted to the floor. When he looked at the city now, he could see things much smaller and closer up. Tallentiri were leading people up out of tunnels dug into the ground. He also noticed a large circle of scaffolding.

‘What do you see sir?’ a soldier asked.

‘Human prisoners being used as slaves. I think they’re building something’ Jason said.

‘A weapon?’

‘I don’t know’ Jason replied. The sound of gunfire drew Jason’s attention away. Captain Miles and his group were returning and firing on a large group of Tallentiri, who were advancing towards them.

‘Sir?’ a soldier asked.

‘There’s too many of them’ Jason replied.

‘So what do we do?’

‘We go down to the river’ and before they could ask any more questions, Jason flung himself over the railing and into the bushland below, using the low plants to disguise himself. Slowly the others joined him.

‘Stay perfectly still and quiet’ Jason whispered. The soldiers nodded. After a few minutes the Tallentiri left and there was no noise except for the wind blowing through the trees.

‘Now what do we do?’ Miles asked.

‘We move’ Jason said, picking himself up and started moving down the hillside.