Project Obsidian Moon

Chapter 11: Sector Five

There had been a few lunatics who'd tried breaking into Sector 5 in the past, but none of them got past the first few minutes in there.

I never thought I'd be one of them.

There was only one thing connecting the inside of Sector 5 with the rest of the bunker, Gate 01. The large bulkhead vault door towered over it's surroundings. Multiple security towers and checkpoints stood in front of it, accompanied by a variety of different soldiers and ranks. You wouldn't even get close to it, let alone through it. To most people it was almost like a monument, but one that was shrouded in mystery and dread. People eventually stopped worrying themselves with it, either they got bored looking at it, or they valued their lives. It was situated in a large industrial district, almost as tall as the smokestacks of the factories near it.
"You are in position?" Aki's voice asked through our comms.
"Almost.. I still think this is terrible idea, that'll probably end with me dying."
"Do not worry, I've run the algorithms. You have a 60 percent chance of success."
"60??? What about the other 40%?!?"
I heard a pause.
"10% says you get captured, and the other 30% says they kill you on sight."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence I guess."
I slowly got into position, crouching behind a small barricade towards the start of the checkpoints.
"Okay I'm in position."
"Good. The convoy will be there in 20 seconds. Remember, if they see you before you get inside, you will die."
"Thought I had a 10% chance of capture?"
"That was sarcasm."
The convoy turned onto the road. 4 trucks, with 2 troop transports at the front and back.
The first of the vehicles passed the barricade I was hiding behind. Just as the last troop transport passed by, I quickly jumped over the barricade and grabbed a handle on the back of the last vehicle. I had about 30 seconds to conceal myself underneath the transport or I'd have an entire armed platoon shooting at me. I quickly secured myself and clipped a harness onto the axle on the belly of the vehicle. The convoy slowly stopped as it reached the first checkpoint.
"Remember, the device will only work for 15 seconds. Activate it too early, and it'll overload before you're through the checkpoint."
"Copy that. See you on the other side Aki."
"If there still is one. Good luck my friend."
The convoy started to move again, but this time, towards the second checkpoint. It was a series of scanners that swept across all vehicles, and would blare sirens if something that wasn't supposed to be on the convoy was on the convoy. I was something that wasn't supposed to be on the convoy. I quickly fetched a small reflective sphere from a utility pocket on my jumpsuit.
"This better work..." I muttered
I squeezed the sphere as hard as my palms would let me, what followed next were a shrill whine accompanied by a small flash of light. The sphere should now be projecting a refractive bubble around me that'd make anything inside invisible to every scanner. The convoy passed through all 4 scanners, coming to another halt at yet another checkpoint. Just as the sphere overloaded and fizzed out.
"State your ID and batch number."
The voice was loud enough that even I could hear it.
"Identification Echo Victor Alpha November Alpha. Batch number E-151207."
That was the convoy lead I assumed. A loud buzz came from the gate at the front of the checkpoint.
"You're cleared for entry. Remember, leave a good gap before the vault opens."
"Copy that."
The convoy began moving again before coming to a stop right past the checkpoint's fence gate. A klaxon blared, almost deafening me. The giant vault door ahead began to open, the hinge at the very top shrieking in agony. Everything around me begun rumbling, almost like there was an earthquake.
"Gate-01 opening sequence complete. All personnel prepare for Protocol 13. " A voice said over the PA system.
What stood behind the vault was... underwhelming to say the least. It was mostly just a reinforced concrete wall. But a tunnel just tall and wide enough to fit the convoy was inlayed in the bottom centre of the circular door. The tunnel itself looked ominous, illuminated by nothing but red lights every few meters. Almost making it look like it was covered in blood, but I guess that's what they were going for. As the convoy entered the tunnel, the vault began closing behind us.
"Hey Aki, I'm in. Radio silence from here on out. If you don't hear from me within 3 hours, hit the button."
"Understood. Good Luck Adam. Over and Out."
I had 3 hours to finish this. If I failed, I wouldn't live to regret it. The tunnel seemed to go on forever, with no apparent end in sight. The red lights flickered every so often, shrouding everything in darkness. It looked like I'd be here for a while, so I tightened the harness so that my body wasn't loosely hanging below the transport and let my mind wander. Sure enough, my mind didn't take long to wander to her.