Geshu stood in the agreed spot. He was in sight of the town's outer wall. He had his back to a storage building where he would not be seen. Today was his chance to leave this dried out dump. The setting sun glinted off the edge falls of Thay. He could not wait to have some proper drinking water again. He had snuck into the town many years before. He had planned and worked tirelessly to accomplish his mission. It was difficult and dirty work in less than ideal circumstances. He had however completed what he set out to do. Along the wall, out of sight and disguised, Geshu had left explosive charges. Some components he had snuck in over time. Others had been created from the resources the town already had, without knowing the value of. He had relayed routes and roads to his people in the resistance. He looked at his small display. It gave off little light as to not be noticed. These were his last minutes in this archaic hole, amongst these Chosen worshiping simpletons. He had come to loath the town and all it stood for. Had it been his choice, he would have planted the explosives in populated spots instead. Especially those of the elders. Sailus and his like that grovelled before those false gods his people had been fighting for thousands of years. He spat on the ground.
On the outside of the wall, only a few meters from the edge in a handful of places, hidden hatches opened. Crouched figures crept out wearing clothing resembling that of the villagers. They stuck close to the wall to not be spotted by any of the town guard towers. Nearly one hundred resistance members crept out of the tunnels as quietly as a breeze. When they were all assembled at the designated spots, the captain held up her hand. Her display showed each team's position. She waited for the last traces of the sun to disappear beneath the horizon. She checked her display and positioning again, nodding to herself in approval. So far so good for the plan. All across Cyla similar teams were getting ready to spring their own traps as the sunset rolled across the planet. The idea was to overwhelm the Ten islands with multiple swift raids. When the captain was sure that it was sufficiently dark she held up her display, took a deep breath, then pressed a button. Nothing happened and continued to happen. The night air remained still and undisturbed. Inside Geshu also received the signal that the devices had been triggered. He grew anxious when there were no booms. Rushing to the nearest charge, he inspected it. It looked to be in working order. He wondered if the captain's display was having difficulty. Outside, frustrated and unaware of the events inside the great Thay walls, the captain pressed the button several times in frustration. Finally the contact took. The device Geshu was inspecting gave a faint beep confirming the signal. Geshu cursed the Gods and his parents. Then the bombs detonated, undoing him by his own hand. Several places along the wall erupted, lobbing equal parts stone and flame from the walls. The last one exploded twenty meters from the captain's squad, ringing their ears and knocking them back some distance. Geshu in his last mission had outdone himself. All hell broke loose in the town.
Fires, injured and even a few dead threw town life into disarray. Cries and screams drifted through the disrupted night time air. Chaos reigned in the normally peaceful town. The town's people were armed with crude weapons and were caught off guard. Most were still trying to come to grips with what happened. Where they did engage with the large contingent of resistance they were gunned down without hesitation or mercy. The town folk were as lambs to the slaughter against the vastly superior technology of the resistance. The captain's teams moved swiftly. Their objective was to acquire young Shadow Dwellers between the ages of 15 and 20. They were not picky and soon they were hauling off tens of prisoners. The captured were spirited away to the tunnels. The captain received reports with each capture. She kept track in her head as best as she was able. When she had counted near enough eighty 'new recruits', she opened radio comms for the first time since the raid began.
"Withdraw." She needed to say no more. At once the movement of the resistance reversed. And as quickly as they came, they had gone. There were some casualties, but this was to be expected. A lucky townie here and there was to be expected. The islanders had not shown themselves and thankfully neither did the lord of the island. But a contingency had been planned all the same. A secondary group had left from the edge of the wall at the same time as the withdraw order was issued. They were instructed to move slowly and deliberately. They were also instructed to be as visible as they could. It was a potential suicide mission, but had the potential to save many resistance lives if it came to that. When the decoy team had been traveling for around half an hour, they came to yet another tunnel entrance. They planned a light some ways away as a last red herring, then disappeared along with their compatriots. The raid lasted under an hour. The effect on the town was devastating. The effect it would have on Cyla was immeasurable. The captain had no way of knowing, but her operation would change the world forever.