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Fortis

 
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1/21/2009 13:36:51   
Chaddledee
Member

Yay, I got approved. I shall be posting each of my chapters in seperate posts, for the sake of linking. Hope you like it!

Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3

< Message edited by Chaddledee -- 1/21/2009 13:47:31 >
MQ  Post #: 1
1/21/2009 13:38:04   
Chaddledee
Member

Prologue

It all started with the war. The country was victorious, but at what cost? It was left in ruins, and all hell had broken loose. The government was on its last legs. They didn’t have the money or resources to run what was left of the country. There were riots in the streets in protest of the government’s indecisiveness, and the military was running on a skeleton crew. The riots were becoming more frequent and extreme with every passing day. It was chaos. The people were looking for something, anything to cling on to; they were looking for a glimmer of hope in the darkness, and that glimmer was the Light.

The Light used to be seen as an outcast society, taking everything to the extreme, but with the country at breaking point, radical thinking seemed to be the way forward. They claimed that they would turn the country around, lift it out of the darkness, and that was all that was needed to be said to win over the public overnight. Within a matter of weeks the current government had passed control over to the Light, only to realise it was a massive mistake.

The Light instated a dictatorship rule. They consolidated what was left of the military and began the systematic round up and enslavement of every town and city. They passed across the country and moved everyone to work camps. Anyone who protested was shot dead. They made an example of one town by killing everyone, just because one man protested. Soon enough, all settlements on the map were ghost towns, and there were several hundred work camps set up.

The Light held an iron rule over the country. Of course, that all changed with the rebellion of Work Camp Iota Delta, somewhere around ten years into their reign. One of the workers couldn’t take it anymore. He started plotting, spreading the word of a rebellion. It started off small, a few individuals attacking guards, nothing that couldn’t be handled, but the attacks grew in size. Before too long a mass rebellion had begun. The guards were overwhelmed, and either fled or died.

After seizing control, they took the guards’ guns and supplies and moved to a nearby crater. The crater must have been at least a mile wide, and just as deep. They set up a camp inside it, and named it the Great Crater. The Great Crater offered protection and hid them from the Light. Rumours of the Rebellion of Iota Delta spread fast and sparked animosity amongst other camps. Many more rebellions followed, and the escapees found their way to the Great Crater. The Great Crater grew until it was a fortified city. There were other settlements, but none as impressive and safe as the Great Crater. They soon had enough men to set up their own army; the Craterguard Liberators.

The Craterguard Liberators were badly equipped and had almost no training, but that didn’t stop them. The Craterguard Liberators went on missions to free the remaining work camps, starting with the nearest one, Iota Epsilon. With every freed work camp their numbers increased, and the Light’s control withered. Soon the country was split into two. This is when the story of Fortis Vindico begins, in Work Camp Theta Alpha at the outskirts of the Light’s land.
MQ  Post #: 2
1/21/2009 13:39:53   
Chaddledee
Member

Chapter 1All in a day’s work

There was a buzz of excitement going around Work Camp Theta Alpha. No more than a week ago nearby Work Camp Theta Beta had been liberated, and by none other than the Craterguard Liberators. The workers of Theta Alpha were next, and everybody knew it. The guards seemed extremely tense and jumpy. They kept their Plasma Pistols out of their holsters, and kept their fingers on the trigger.

Fortis Vindico was a slave at Theta Alpha, and had been for as long as he could remember. The Light had gained control of the country mere months after his birth. He had never known his parents, as they had been sent off to a different work camp. He was quite young, in his late twenties. His eyes were a dull grey-blue. His brown hair was cut short, and he was well shaved, just like every other male slave. He was required to wear the work-camp standard issue orange jumpsuit.

Every week at the work camp the workers would swap jobs on a rota. On each work camp there are four jobs: farming, mining, working in the factories and moving everything from place to place. The last was loathed the most, as it was most tiring. Fortis was in Work Group B, so he started each month with mining and ended it with farming. At the moment Fortis was working at the factories. It was tiring work so he’d keep an eye on the guards and when they had their backs turned he would stop working, have a rest, and then resume as soon as they turned back.

He had made a few friends in his group, namely, Venus Astrum and Felix Thompson. Fortis and Venus were friends since they were very young. She had piercing, green, hypnotic eyes that you couldn’t look away from. Her shiny, black hair was long and perfectly straight. She had one of the most beautiful smiles Fortis had ever seen. Her skin was completely clear and lacking colour. She had a perfection that could only be rivalled by statues.

Felix Thompson was way down the other end of the spectrum. It was apparent he was in his mid-forties from his sagging skin and the grey highlights in his otherwise black hair, despite being in very good physical shape. His eyes were a cloudy grey, and looked as if they were lost in his memories. He was about twenty when the Light came into power; he had been around when people had the right to their own possessions, the right to say what they wanted, the right to do what they wanted, and that was what made the work camp that much worse.

It was late in the day and the Sun was setting. One of the guards signalled to the one standing on the balcony up above. The guard standing on the balcony held down the button on the microphone attached to his vest.

“Day’s up, people,” the speakers roared. “Shut down the machinery and proceed back to your living quarters. Anyone not in their living quarters within 15 minutes will be severely punished. I repeat, anyone not in their living quarters within 15 minutes will be severely punished.”

“Living quarters” was a bit of an exaggeration. They were really only cells. They were designed to hold two people each, and were very basic. They had a tap, two beds, and a toilet. The lack of objects in the cells gave the illusion of them being bigger than they actually were. The locations of the workers’ cells were based on the work group they were in. This made it easier to keep track of them. Fortis shared a cell with Felix, which is probably the only reason they had become such close friends.

Fortis and Felix hastily made their way across the work camp to their cells, which were at the opposite end to the factories.

“When do you reckon the Craterguard will come?” asked Fortis.

“When? Don’t get your hopes up.”

“Stop being so negative! If the rumours are true, then Theta Beta has been liberated. We are next!”

“But they may be just that; rumours. I have spent 30 years in here. There have been many rumours about the Craterguard Liberators coming, and so far, nought. Just don’t get your hopes up, okay?”

Fortis sighed.

“Okay.”

They entered their cell and were silent from then on. They went to bed immediately, as there was nothing else to do. From his bed Fortis looked up out of the barred window to see the stars in the night sky, and sighed deeply.
MQ  Post #: 3
1/21/2009 13:41:01   
Chaddledee
Member

Chapter 2 - Liberation

There was a loud explosion. Fortis’s eyes snapped open. His ears were ringing. Felix was above him, shouting at him, but the loud whirring in his head drowned his voice out. He looked around. The corridor was flashing red. Fortis leaped out of his bed and looked out at the corridor.

A guard ran around the corner at full pelt. He kept looking over his shoulder. Fortis’ head had cleared a little, and could make out instructions being barked from the direction the guard had come.

“Get these cells open, and evacuate the prisoners!”

A group of five men came round the corner. Four of them were wearing recon armour, and crouched down whilst moving. They went about opening the cells doors one by one. The commander was by far the most impressive. He wasn’t wearing recon armour like the rest, but instead power armour. His power armour was a matte black, with silver showing through from where bullets had hit in previous battles. From this, it was evident that this armour had been in many fights. On his left arm was a giant metallic fist, which must have been a foot and a half wide, and three feet long. In his holster he had a silver plated laser pistol, which must have cost him loads. He didn’t wear a helmet and he looked in his late thirties. He had his black hair cut short, and his striking green eyes contrasted his pale complexion.

He stopped moving, and took his silver laser pistol out of his holster. The guard was nearly at the end of the corridor now. He slowly raised his arm and pointed the pistol at the guard. The guard looked over his shoulder one last time, only to see the Liberator commander pull the trigger.

There was a bright red flash and then the guard was lying on the floor, dead. He lifted the pistol to his mouth and blew away the smoke, in true cowboy style, then holstered it. One of the other Liberators in recon armour came over to Fortis’ cell and cut the lock with a mini laser that looked like a Maglite torch. The cell door swung open. The Liberator tapped the panel on his left forearm, and his visor went down to reveal dark-skinned man with a scar across on eye, grinning.

“Please proceed down the hall and round the corner, then through the gaping hole in the side of the wall. There you shall find a truck waiting to transport you to Foxtrot Outpost. Have a nice day!”

Fortis and Felix didn’t have to be told twice. They hurried down the corridor and turned the corner to see a massive pile of rubble lying on the floor surrounding the hole blasted in the wall. They trod carefully over the rubble and jumped over what was left of the wall. Fortis looked over to his right at the main gate. He could see half a dozen liberators wearing power armour, although, nothing as impressive as the one the commander wore, shooting at the guards that had congregated there. The unit was a distraction for the guards, and a damned good one at that.

Fortis continued onwards. He saw what must have been twenty transport units dead ahead with a massive crowd of people around them. The transport units were massive. They each had two floors, were fifty feet long and thirty feet wide. Fortis and Felix ran the rest of the way. Fortis set about looking for Venus. He called her name but no one answered.

“She might not have left the living quarters yet,” Felix suggested.

Fortis called out her name again. This time he heard a reply, coming from behind. He turned around, and saw her running at him from out of the hole in the wall. He also saw a guard aiming at her back with a plasma pistol.

“Watch out!” he cried, but it was too late.

The guard hit her. Luckily, the guard was a bad aim, and only got her leg, but she was still badly injured. Moments later the Liberator leader stepped out of the building hole in the wall. He saw the guard standing in front of him. With one flick of his power fist he sent the guard flying into the wall. He walked up to Venus and picked her up.

“Injured person here! Coming through! Move out the way!”

Upon saying it, the crowd parted. Fortis and Felix followed him up to a transport unit. He lay down Venus across several seats inside the transport unit. Fortis and Felix sat down beside her. The leader left the transport unit to address the crowd. The crowd fell silent.

“Everybody in!”
MQ  Post #: 4
1/21/2009 13:46:31   
Chaddledee
Member

Chapter 3On the road

Venus still hadn’t woken, and Felix had also fallen asleep. Fortis didn’t blame them, what with the events of the previous night. Fortis was told by another Liberator that Venus was fine and was healing quickly. They had already spent eight hours on the road. Felix taught Fortis how to read the time a few hours beforehand with the old clock hanging above the door to the driver’s compartment.

The compartment door slid open, and the commander walked out. He looked around to try to spot a seat, and found one next to Fortis. He sat down and neither of them said anything for a while.

“I’m Commander Ironfist, Commander of Recon division at Foxtrot Outpost. Good to meet you!” said Ironfist, extending his arm out for a handshake, as if he had only just seen Fortis. Fortis shook his hand.

“I’m Fortis. This is Felix, and that’s Venus.”

“Fortis? I like it. It’s a good name. How is Venus holding up?”

“One of the others said that she was doing fine and would make a full recovery by the end of the week. Where are we going now? That Fox thingy?”

“Foxtrot Outpost. Foxtrot Outpost is our fist line of defence. We set it up nearly ten years ago now. It used to be a major work camp, and after liberating it we thought it would be a shame to waste such a fine building. Since then it has grown upwards and outwards.”

Fortis didn’t know what on Earth Ironfist was on about, but knew he was meant to be impressed. Fortis humoured him.

“Wow. That must really be something.”

“Oh, it is! Not only is it a defensive outpost, but also a major settlement. The only thing that can best Foxtrot Outpost is the Great Crater itself.”

Fortis looked puzzled.

“Great Crater?”

“Ah yes, I forgot you lot have been stuck in a cell since birth. The Great Crater is the main base of the Craterguard Liberators. After the Light went about enslaving the whole damned country, one slave camp fought back; Iota Delta. They knocked out the guards and took their weapons and supplies, then made their way over to the nearby crater. It offered protection and kept them off the Light’s radar. They set up a small settlement, which grew as other escaped workers arrived. It soon became a massive underground city; the Great Crater.”

“Sounds cool,” said Fortis in a dull voice. “How much further away is the outpost?”

“There,” Ironfist replied, pointing out the window beside Fortis.

Fortis turned around and looked out to where Ironfist was pointing. He was surprised to see on his left a large settlement with a 100 feet high metal wall surrounding it. In the middle there was a tower which loomed over the rest of the city. Foxtrot Outpost.
MQ  Post #: 5
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