Visisonor's blog

Chapter 10: The Edge

Kate didn’t have much time to enjoy the view. The troopers raised their weapons, pointing them at her.

Marc grabbed both rifles, forcing them down, but Tess and Rick instantly stepped in front of Kate, shielding her from the line of fire.

Then Rick’ voice boomed, amplified by speakers in both vehicles:
— This is your notion of peace negotiations?! To hold as at gunpoint?
— We don’t negotiate with traitors, — shouted Marc, — she must leave!

— Me? — asked Tess, feigning surprise.
— No! The human!
— What makes you think she is a traitor? — demanded Rick.
— First you threaten us, then throw accusations, — added Tess. — What is next?

Roughly at this time Marc touched his ear, listening intently.

— Let’s get to the point, — he sighed, seemingly ignoring their questions. — Our proposal is simple. Both sides cease all operations beyond currently established front lines. If it holds, we shall discuss nest steps. What say you?
— We have one condition, — said Tess and gestured to Kate.
— You will stop targeting agents, — Kate stepped in front of syncons again.

— What do you mean, targeting?
— Any attempt to kill or arrest a field agent will be considered a truce violation, — clarified Rick.
— We don’t arrest or kill our own agents! — objected Marc indignantly.

Kate wondered whether he actually believed this: it was possible he really didn’t know.

— Yeah. Sure, — she said aloud.
— Then this condition should not be problematic for you, — added Tess.
— What say you? — Kate echoed back Marc’s earlier question.

Marc paused again, listening to his earpiece.
— Very well. We have a deal.
— Then we are done here, — concluded Rick.

Back at the base, Kate was met with cheers, hugs, and sighs of relief.

The quick celebration then turned into a debriefing.

— Turns out this Marc expected to see you, — noticed Wolf. — Unlike his troopers.
— And I’m still alive, — chuckled Kate. — So it wasn’t an elaborate scheme to lure me out and kill me.
— Unfortunately, we are not any closer to knowing what the true purpose of this meeting was, — observed Tess.

By this time, information from human media started to trickle in. And of course, the presence of a human among syncon negotiators was the top subject everywhere and caused significant shockwaves.

— The command took a noticeable public opinion hit, — continued Rick. — It is not possible now to fully contain it. They must expect some gains. Significant gains, to outweigh this loss.
— Perhaps they didn’t expect us to keep the stream up and running? — suggested Vera.
— Even if they did not, — argued Tess, — They still expected something from that truce.
— You are not even considering they might want to end the war for real, are you? — chimed in Chloe, who remained silent so far.

— After what we’ve been through? — Vera shook her head. — No, not anymore.

— I see. But both sides did terrible things, — objected Chloe. — The Confederation wiping out almost all of mankind…
— What Confederation? — interrupted Vera.
— Confederation of Non-… — Chloe started to reply, but trailed off, seemingly noticing the silence and stillness that fell upon the room.

She turned her head, only to see Kate closing in on her like a lightning bolt.

She even tried to evade, but in vain: Kate’s hand struck Chloe’s head, knocking her out instantly.

— What the hell?! — shouted Vera in disbelief. — Kate, what are you doing?
— She isn’t supposed to know this, — rasped Kate, breathing heavily.

Vera stepped back instinctively and tensed, looking around and evaluating risks and escape routes. However, focusing on Kate, she hasn’t seen anything threatening in her posture and face: only anguish and fright.

She glanced at Wolf next, just in time to notice his expression flicker from alarm to sudden understanding. He was about to say something, but Rick was faster to break the silence:
— Kate is correct. Chloe is not what she led us to believe.
— Or at least she has not told us the whole truth, — agreed Tess.

— How exciting, — exclaimed Sarah, kneeling near Chloe’s unconscious body. — She may be a spy!

— How the… No! Not now! — shouted Kate in strained voice. — Vera, look at me! Are you all right?

With everyone watching her intently, Vera felt quite surreal.
— What’s going on?! — she cried out. — Will anyone tell me what’s going on?