Dark Star on the outside, deep inside Kentucky around and inside a mountain range, was quiet and still. However, inside every bunker, hidden building or manhole there was a whir of electronics and personnel busy with their individual tasks and assignments. This base had almost five hundred soldiers, scientists and specialized persons responsible for the daily meals, cleaning and upkeep of this installation. Shipments mostly came way of an underground train that ran over forty five miles away to avoid detection. All foods were prepared from dried, or non perishable, ingredients or from organically grown vegetables and fruits from the indoor farm. Mutts ran all of these remedial tasks with EUS personnel overseeing and double checking all work performed by them.
Deep inside the base the 100 were training and learning without the need of adult oversight and interaction they took most of their instruction with the help of the base's AI they referred to as PAM. PAM started out as a learning program that malfunctioned and no longer worked along defined lines of codes or simple zeros and ones. There was something miraculous about her intelligence and cunning. She took to the challenge of staying ahead of these recruits with much pride and vigor, another thing not seen in a computer program. If you could even call her that. 5 had secretive conversations with PAM and the two of them began to piece together the most efficient strategy for overthrowing the base commander and preparing for the assault on the Western country. General Franklin would not anticipate what would happen next.
He was asleep at his monitors when his alarms violently shook him awake. His eyes tries quickly to gain focus and lose the dull dreary sleep they were just filled with, a few more blinks and he was able to see the displays and readouts with clarity and alertness. A figure is walking deliberately and with purpose down the corridor leading to his station and he tries to issue commands of "Halt" or "Identify yourself" but this intruder is not slowing down or paying him any heed at all. This infuriates him even further and he slams down on his button that releases the safety on his automated turrets positioned along the corridor, at the entryway and even inside his office. He hits the button with such force as he grits his teeth he almost damages the mechanism beneath it, but that cannot be why the turrets are not cutting this figure to shreds. Why? He asks himself. Just then his automatic doors shoot open and 5 steps inside as the door closes behind him.
"Hello Sir." He says with an innocent demeanor and posture.
"What the hell are you doing here?" He says very startled. He managed to stand up away from his desk and grabbed his shotgun , a family heirloom that had been his father's trench gun in the first World War, modified with a button along the bottom for a trigger mechanism and fired white phosphorous laced rounds for maximum pain and lethality. However, he didn't raise it towards his trainee mostly out of sheer confusion that this subordinate had managed to reach his inner sanctum unharmed and with such poise.
"Have you heard of a man named Miyamato Musashi?" He asks while slowly, very very slowly and deliberately walking to the right side of the desk. "Probably not, he was a swordsman in ancient Japan that not only excelled at the art of combat with a sword but the art of beating an opponent before you have even engaged them with your sword. One such tale goes that he would often deliberately show up late to duels and frustrate his opponents who waited on him so one time he met a man on an island early and stood there on the shore with a wooden oar instead of his sword. The man was so offended that he charged him before the boat reached the shore fully and was waist deep in water. Musashi was not only thirty years older than this younger more arrogant swordsman but he was also more patient and now that he wasn't soaked in water, lighter on his feat. He beat that swordsman to death with a wooden oar." 5 finishes his slow arcing maneuver around the desk and is now almost face to face with the General who is brandishing the shotgun pointing it directly at his chest.
"I don't give a damn about some stupid slant eye or how they killed each other, how did you disable my turrets?" The General is no longer confused and has identified this subordinate as a threat and will treat him accordingly.
"PAM assisted me with that, just like she assisted me with disabling all of your defenses, it's just your shotgun versus me." He slowly backs into a more defensive range from the shotgun and pulls out a sword from his waist. "This sword, although we are making better with our current technology, is thought to be owned by Musashi himself. I am going to use it to kill you. We will attack the west but not for you and your broken ideology and corrupt government. From these ashes a new society will form." He is interrupted by the bellowing of laughter from the General.
"You?" He asks laughing wildly like a crazed mad man. "You think you are the one to kill me? Boy you may be the epitome of technology and training but you have a lot to learn about war and killing and the first rule of killing someone is never be surprised."
Just as the final syllable of his last word is uttered the once small cramped office lights up to reveal a large dormitory style complex. The wall nearest 5 slides open and six commandos come out with dual wielded axes and a carbon composite full suit body armor that has a deep green color to it. The ancient Japanese sword holds true and drinks its first gulp of blood in a millennia as 5 rolls forward into a soldier and plunges the blade deep into his chest cavity and it protrudes out his back spraying the newly opened wall red. Two of the soldiers swing wildly for 5's head but hit their fallen comrade instead as 5 deftly moves around the men with such speed slicing pieces of them here and there like a blind man carving a thanksgiving turkey. The General goes from confident to scared immediately and begins firing his shotgun at the bodies in front of him, unable to identify the blur of motion that is 5 and that which is his bodyguards. He tags one of his own men in the head and spills the contents out onto the bodies that slumped down on the floor, some missing limbs or parts of limbs or even just chunks of flesh cut right off. The General turns and sees 5 a washed in blood gripping his sword standing under a light away from the artistic pile of bodies he had just sculpted in place. He takes a few deep breathes and steadies himself, the General points his shotgun and presses the button to hear the deadening sound of an empty "click". Quickly he pulls out a revolver from his back and begins to let loose the six rounds it contains. Each pull of the trigger he has 5 dead in his sights but he is moving so fast at the end of each pull that each bullets path never intersects with his. Eventually he hears the "click" of his empty revolver and looks up to see 5 and his empty dead expression inches from his face. Unable to breath in he is startled and realizes there is a sword inserted into his right lung, this blade is then twisted right to left over and over as the General screams in pain. He tries to claw and grab at 5 but never quite is able to grasp him, the last feeble attempts of a feeble man go without witness as 5 turns and exits this tomb.
Captain Wills paces in his office nervously and quickly, he is fidgeting for the first time since childhood. Just as his nerves are beginning to reach a peak his senses alert him to an approaching figure from his hallway into his entryway.
"There were a few surprises like you said, but everything is going according to plan." 5 says as he walks into the office, still covered in blood and acknowledges the sheer look of shock on Wills face and adds, "No none of this is my blood, there were some extra bodyguards to take care of."
"Shit, with a sword? You killed the General and his secret bodyguards with a damn sword? I know you talked about doing it, but I was half hoping there was another way to deal with this, what are we going to do without the General running the base?" Wills talks and asks questions so fast, he notices that 5 is calm and collected and doesn't seem to be as startle as he is and he takes a deep breath and calms down. After a few awkward minutes of silence as 5 waits for him to finish calming himself down they begin going over the next steps in the plan and having Wills promoted to General and in charge of the bases operations and paperwork leaving 5 free to control the training and attack plans. 5 begins to undress in his new office and takes a shower and changes to get ready for their weekly council meetings they used to sneak around and have. Today will be the first open meeting and everyone's assignments moving forward are due, everything must go according to schedule.
It has been six hours since the bloody coup and everything in Dark Star has not skipped a beat. The 100 train tirelessly with experimental and fantastic weaponry that 1 and 2 have been cooking up in their new laboratory. They started with the basics in defensive technology and full body armor with atomic carbon that is grown in strands and woven to form an almost impenetrable surface that is still flexible and breathable. In the weapons department they were able to advance the battle rifle with an electron battery that emits a minor pulse that projects the bullet out from the barrel with more force than a traditional machine gun. The elimination of gunpowder allowed for more rounds to fit in a standard size magazine that would normally hold sixteen rounds can now hold over three hundred. The only drawback is the rate of fire is slower but they have deduced that it will easily be overcame with advanced shooting techniques and less need to reload in combat. There are also gadgets to treat wounds more effectively and heartbeat monitors that can sense enemies through barriers including concrete walls and vehicles and battle zone debris.
There was a large conference room that had top of the line comforts to spoil and treat visitors like they were at a top of the line resort, as they opened up their check books to invest in different military projects and plans to annihilate the West. Some of these donors were given access to military equipment and based on how many millions of dollars they donated have even been able to partake in some testing of new weapons. All of that will come to an end after the events of this day, even now the conference room is stripped down from its five star hotel quality. The thousand dollar chairs have been taken out and thrown away, the forty foot by ten foot mahogany conference table with built in touch screens and refreshment dispensers is gone as well. In its place is a barren floor with thirteen mats aligned in an oval with the touch screens ripped out of the conference table and placed in front of each mat. This is the new meeting place for the council of the 13, much more efficient then sneaking around avoiding cameras and personnel.
Twelve of the 13 are kneeled down on mats quietly waiting for 5 to enter and for the council to begin. 5 quickly strolls into the council room and makes no eye contact or any announcement at all. He is kneeling down like the others and nods over to his left, which is the queue for 1 and 2 to give their latest reports. This will continue around the room until everyone's assigned tasks have been discussed and any new orders will be given and then the meeting would be concluded.
"We have better armor now, there have been minor improvements, but we are good for production, also our new battle riffle has been completely fine tuned and is also ready at this time." 1 says while simultaneously flickering away at the touch screen.
"Concur, crates have been sealed with enough supplies to last for a few years of combat with medical supplies and rations, super condensed to alleviate our space problem." 2 adds to 1's report.
The history of the Western United States, as well as different cultures around the world was the responsibility of 3, 4 and 6 to disseminate and organize. In previous meetings they had, as a council, they discussed the futility of the Eastern's Aryan philosophy and corporate mentality to social and societal problems. They also talked about the history of this once united country and the events that led to its separation and they find fault mostly in the unwillingness of the East to progress with changing times and being stuck in old traditional ways. There was a major flaw in the West's approach to social services and what they perceived to be a large unaccountably of civilians working towards the greater good. Religion on both sides has been deemed equally absurd and they struck down religion as the New United States official religion and wanted to outlaw religion all together but further investigating in different dynasties concluded that the West's approach to all religion is available and allowed is a better implementation. There was, however, a philosophy that clung to them when sifting through the ashes of this world's history, the Samurai. The honor system was a very good fit for their mentality and they implemented it and used it in training and in building a plan for a new society. They did make some tweaks to the code of honor, but there was a big fascination with these teenagers to the mythical lore of these warriors that spoke to them individually and as a whole.
The meeting continued and they kept going around the circle but inside 13's head was a buzzed with questions and doubts. He could process what was being said on a subconscious level but he was very focused on his doubts about their attack, about their implementation of a new society. He knew how 5 would react when he told him and that there would be consequences for getting in the way, as the late General could attest to. He knows the plan going forward, they are going to cross the border line and attack the military bases with long range surface to surface missiles as well as a new gas compound that weakens subjects until they no longer have the strength to even breathe and suffocate. This Neuro Gas, a compound that the East has been experimenting with for a few years now has been refined and weaponized for use with the attack. They are going to kill hundreds of thousands of civilians to cripple the West and eventually unleashing it on other countries to force a quick and immediate submission to their new ideology and societal structure of classes across the entire world. He doesn't know why it bothers him and no one else, he doesn't know why it feels wrong deep in his gut when they calmly discuss the slaughter of children and women and yet equate their military strategy and discipline with an honor system. Lost in these thoughts he realized the other 12 are staring at him quietly and waiting for him to speak.
"I apologize. I am processing what was just said." 13 manages to utter out while his brain races.
"It has been well over thirty minutes since 12 gave an overview of our plan of attack. What parts are you processing?" 5 says condescendingly sitting to his left. he can feel the peer of the others on him as he formulates what to say, or how to say it.
"I disagree with our course of attack and the methods in which we conduct our engagement." 13 says drawing some undisciplined looks back and forth from 5 to 13 waiting for what happens next. Never has there been any disagreement or second guessing what 5 says and what they all want to do.
"Noted, but denied. We will continue as planned." 5 responds quickly without hesitation to this rebuttal of all that they have worked for, inside he is upset and angry.
"That is not good enough."
"Excuse me?" 5 asks with a tinge of anger coming through in his question.
"We will not continue as planned, we have overlooked so very much in this upbringing and training that we don't value life as much as we should. Compassion is not a weakness, a mother caring for her children. Life is not meaningless, if it was then you should all stop breathing right now. There is a disconnect we have with the rest of decent societies, we have been developed in a lab and bred for combat. We are soldiers and will defeat our enemies whenever we meet them on the battle field, of that I am certain. However, we should have more honor than to kill non combatants, we should have more honor than to use our Nuero Gas to eliminate our foes before we meet them face to face in combat. Anything less than this is cowardly." 13 says as he slowly stands with his hands behind his back, they weight of all these thoughts on his mind has been unloaded and he feels lighter and able to process what is happening around him better.
"Enough, we will continue as planned. I am in charge do as I say..." 5 trails off his voice as he looks around the room and realizes what he has said. "A challenge then, that is how we will decide conflict among the council members. Hand to hand combat to the death, the winner's ideas will be implemented. Agreed?"
13 nods in 5's direction as he rises to his feet. The rest of the council quickly spring up to their feet as 13 backs into the circle with 5 walking towards him. They say nothing to each other as they square off against one another. There is a small pause, with his eyes 12 tries to plead with 5 not to go along with this, this only infuriates him and he strikes for his head with his left hand in a stabbing motion. His first strike is deflected by 12 and so is his second attack, a spinning closed fist backhand but his follow-up quick kick to the chest finds its way home and knocks 13 backwards four feet and off balance. There is no time lost in between attacks as 5 continues the assault with his unbalanced foe stumbling backwards he fires off quick jabs aiming for his head and sternum, all the strikes are deflected up and outward but he is momentarily confused why 13 is not striking back. 5 continues his quick flurries of fists that could break through brick walls with lightening speed, but no matter how fast he attacks or feints attacks with follow up attacks, they are all just as quickly deflected or parried by 13. Conserving his strength 13 waits for an opportune moment to attack and waits patiently as he defends himself from the onslaught. For a split second 5 slows down as he begins to get winded and one of his overhead hammer fist attacks misses wildly, in that moment 13 steps into his right handed jab with everything he has and knocks 5 off his feet and rolling backwards. His jaw is dislocated and there is a large cut along his cheek but he simply snaps his jaw back into place and leaps to his feet again.
The other 12 watch these two go at it over and over as they constantly test each other's defenses and attacks, sometimes 5 gets a shot that glances off but hits hard enough to stagger 13, but more often than not 5 is knocked down or back by a well placed attack and the right time. They have stayed at arms reach thus far and that has limited the number of possible killing blows to land but as the fight goes on they get closer and closer. They trade blows with elbows as they both move and countermove for a chance to end this fight. 5 thinks he has him down when he throws a vicious left hand uppercut that 13 predictably deflects allowing a window of opportunity for him to land a right hand jab to his throat. There is a flutter of alarm in 5's nervous system as time slows down and he notices 13 had a strike for his temple after the deflected uppercut and he pulled the attack back at a fraction of an inch from his head and from ending this fight. They exchange a glance in this moment, this slice of a sliver of a second, 5's blow hits 13's throat and he falls back gurgling unable to breath properly. Laying there dyeing his head is scooped up into 5's hands and rested on his lap. They gaze at each other until the light is gone from his eyes and then he stands up.
"We continue as planned sir?" 12 asks.
"No, he was right. 13 had it figured out, we will continue with our attack but we will do so with honor, no non-combatants, no unnecessary lives lost. Our new society will need a population to keep it thriving. Let us mourn our comrade, our brother."