As we were moving further and further away from the Hope, I saw a new fight break out.
- Who's that? - Arika asked, pointing at a man who was attacked by all the others in the area.
- Captain Nigel - I realised.
He wanted to stop us, because he hasn't approved our operation. However, there was no time to waste and we couldn't sit, arguing with Captain Nigel. Considering his current mood, we'd be talking for a long time.
Nigel went as far as leaving the rocket to pursue us, but the revolutionaries successfully thwarted his attempts to slow us down by clobbering him, calling Nigel a counterrevolutionary.
- So, we're coming back to Mars Base Beta, but we need a plan. Any suggestions? - Sebastain asked.79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXkuYZANzpE
- I think that I could whip up some footage of Roby revealing himself in the prison if I had access to the system, which would require me to be in the communications centre - Arika proposed.
- Okay, let's go there! - Einstein accepted.
- When I get my hands on the recording, I'll broadcast it to the whole outpost. The anger of the revolutionaries will be redirected towards Roby, guaranteeing us safety... - Arika continued.
- With the colonists turned against him, Roby will have little to no chance of escaping scot-free. We'll capture him and our image will be restored - I added.
- Exactly - Arika confirmed.
- That sounds really good but... how are we going to reach the communications centre? There's a lot of people running around and they don't want us in there - Dawn interrupted.
- We'll need a diverison - Einstien looked at Justine.
- Why are you looking at me like that? - she noticed.
- The revolutionaries don't consider you a threat, if we don't count those busy fighting Nigel. You can gain their attention and send them on a false goose chase, telling them about our supposed location. This will make the path to the communications centre much safer - Einstien explained.
- Are you sure that this is a good idea? - Anthony was skeptical - My wife isn't a trained spy. Plus, the revolutionaries can and probably will hurt her!
- I can fend for myself and confront them if needed. Also, I've already been mixed into this mess, so I guess that I can help undo it - Justine ensured him.
- Fine - Anthony nodded, not wanting to drag the discussion out.
We made our way to the outpost. Many people were still fighting outside, so we had to stop our rover further away than we wanted, so that they won't notice us, at least not immediately. We slipped into our spacesuits and left the rover.
Navigating between the fighting colonists wasn't the easiest thing in the world, but with most of them focused on battling each other, few payed attention to us. This allowed us to sneak into Mars Base Beta pretty much unnoticed by the revolutionaries. For now.
Arika remembered where the communications centre is, so we didn't waste time on searching for it. We had to make it there quickly, as the sooner the colonists find out about Roby's true colors, the more likely it is that he will be captured.
It wasn't long until we bumped into some revolutionaries. This meant we had to leave Justine behind and allow her to distract them. She calmly approached the colonists.
- Be more stressed. Act as if you just found out where we are - Anthony gave her a piece of advice, which she listened to. Instead of walking into the group, she ran into it in a hurry.
- I know where those pesky American spies are! - she exclaimed and the revolutionaries instantly turned to her, releasing an unlucky civilian from their grasp.
- Where? - one of them asked.
- Follow me! - Justine led them away, allowing us to progress.79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy5ZKMfpezq
Even though we were moving quickly, I still heard Justine for a bit.
- I saw them here! Let's split up to search faster! - Justine told the revolutionaries, who listened to her and they did split up. That was one threat eliminated.
One, because we were quick to encounter another: the assassins.
For some reason, they were still here. Maybe they expected us to return and waited patiently for us to fall into their trap?
We ran into three assassins, all of which were dressed identically. They exchanged some plans before attacking us. Judging by their voices, Roby wasn't one of them. This means he's further away, perhaps already beyond the base.
Amber was seemingly expecting such an encounter, because she leaped into action as soon as the assassins became visible. She took on one of them with help from Claudius, while Dawn and Sebastian focused on the second attacker. With Arika running past them to reach the communications centre as soon as possible, the adults and I had to deal with the third assassin.
Anthony swiftly pushed the third assassin away from me. Einstein soon joined my father to fight the aggressor. Unfortunately for them, the other two had a trick up their sleeves.
At first, it seemed like they were about to loose, with Dawn, Sebastian, Claudius and Amber closing in on them. As the four teens charged at the Martians, they left the scene, which resulted in my allies running into each other, temporarily putting majority of our group out of commission.
The two assassins helped the third one and the trio was gaining the upper edge. I had to do something.
I'll reiterate, I'm not good at fighting. Sure, I can defend myself against the average enemy agent, but those guys were not your typical enemies. They're assassins, trained to kill. Judging by their grunts during the fight, there's two men and a female assassin too.
The men were busy fighting the adults, so I took on the woman. She has conductive gloves similar to those worn by the assassin who attacked us outside. I found this out the hard way, as she charged at me, zapping me with her gloves.
I could barely recover. As I got up, I hit my head on a generator. That's when I realised there was a way to defeat the female assassin.
I pretended to be unable to get up, prompting an ultimate strike from the assassin. Even though those gloves did pack a punch, I was ready to move out of the way as soon as the woman decides to attack. Then, my moment came.
I jumped away like a scared rabbit, which led to the assassin slamming into the generator with her conductive gloves. The resulting explosion forced the woman to take the gloves off very quickly. She was no longer a threat to me, due to being stunned.
As I went on to help Einstein and Anthony, I felt pretty bad for electrocuting the assassin. Even though she's deeply evil, she still is a person. I couldn't focus too much on morality though, as I had to assist the adults.
With joint effort, we ultimately defeated the assassins and quickly reunited with Arika, who just found the door to the communications centre. This is our chance.79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡptCd27UEBo
- It's locked - she sighed in defeat.
- No way - Anthony grumped in disbelief. He promptly tried to force the door open, but it didn't move a bit.
- We need someone stronger - Claudius noticed.
- Maybe Big Donny can help us? He's a counterrevolutionary after all - Dawn suggested.
She and Sebastian left us for a bit to search for Big Donny while we tried to get the door open through other, more unconventional ways.
Claudius tried to pick the lock with a screwdriver he kept in his pocket. It wasn't enough.
Then, Amber tried to ram the door. The others, myself included, soon took her place, but to no avail.
- I give up. This thing is immovable - I sighed.
Fortunately, Dawn and Sebastian found Big Donny, who smashed through the door in a few punches.79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfXWHUqV6kx
- He really is strong - Arika commented.
Upon arriving in the communications centre, she quickly got to work, with Einstein supervising her. Meanwhile, we made sure that the revolutionaries won't find us. Claudius and Big Donny picked up the door, which fell out of its frame. They brought it to a vertical position and I supported it with a box which I found.
The others stared at the big screen on the front wall. Currently, the map of Valles Marineris was visible, but Arika was about to change that, as she wanted to show us her work.
I decided to check how it's going. Arika was busy extracting the footage into a file to send it deeper into the system. Currently, 45% was done.
- We must wait until it's done - Arika tried to calm down but simply couldn't - My god, the pressure is insane.
That's true. We're under a lot of pressure, but reality thought otherwise, as it was about to add more.
Some revolutionaries noticed the strangely bent door and were trying to bust into the communications centre. Big Donny, Cladius and Sebastian had to hold it up. I soon joined them.
At the corner of my eye, I saw Arika's computer. 68 percent was uploaded.
The others helped us keep the revolutionaries out.
- Come on, we know you're there! - one of them shouted.
75%, 80%...
The banging was becoming louder and louder. We were holding up the door with full force.
90%, 95...
One of the revolutionaries decided to copy our approach and charged at the door. This was something we couldn't block. The revolutionaries made their way into the communications centre, with us at their mercy.
100 percent!
All of a sudden, the video was played on the massive screen. First, it showed Roby lighting the fires, then skipping ahead to Amber pulling Roby's helmet off, revealing his face.
- WHAT?! - the revolutionaries were shocked by this reveal.79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa7CeoAHeUg
and then Add to home screen.