had
delivered the message as if we were transmitting in the open.
I knew what he was thinking when he sent the message.
Fortunately, for us, the warren network extended all the way into its lowest
levels, but it was unlikely to extend into the sewer system.
‘We could leave link men as we go, sir,’ I urged.
‘That way we’ll keep comms going.’
Although our individual comms couldn’t transmit
through rock, our range was clearly far greater than the length of any tunnel,
so the distance we could cover whilst maintaining comms to the surface depended
entirely on how many corners and junctions the sewer system presented us with. It
was worth a try.
The sergeant major looked over his shoulder. ‘Three
Section, let’s get some ropes set up, just in case we need to get out.’ He
turned back to me. ‘Go on, then, Corporal Moralee.’
I perched on the edge of the drain, then braced my
arms either side of me as I slowly eased myself down into the icy water. The
cold instantly took my breath away, and I struggled to retain my composure.
Yulia grabbed me by the waist, helping to lower me
without making a splash. I was carrying a lot more equipment than she was,
after all.
‘Shit . . .’ I breathed once my feet found solid
ground. ‘That’s cold.’
For a moment I thought I saw a smile flash across
Yulia’s face - though it might have just been a reflection in her respirator.
‘It is very cold,’ she agreed. ‘This is why nobody would want to come down
here.’
Realisation suddenly spread across my face, the cold
forgotten. ‘This is where you hid the missiles, isn’t it?’
She nodded. ‘Yes. After the Alliance retreated and
our old politicians surrendered, we moved the missiles into the sewerage system
because we knew the Union weapons inspectors wouldn’t find them here. I was
still a child when this happened.’
‘Edo stopped letting the inspectors in, though,
didn’t they?’ I asked, already knowing the answer. Edo had stopped allowing us
to inspect their warrens for weapons not long after the president took control
and the Presidential Guard were formed.
‘That is correct,’ Yulia agreed, ‘but your spies and
special forces could still find them . . .’
‘A little help here?’ Myers interrupted from above.
I looked up to see him dangling awkwardly from the
drain. It looked as though his daysack had become caught on something.
I reached up and grabbed him around the waist,
gently helping him down into the water just as Yulia had for me.
‘Shit the bed!’ the young trooper exclaimed as the
icy water lapped around him. ‘Why has it got to be so cold?’
I ignored his complaint, and instead gestured
upward. ‘Help the next man down, mate. I’ll push up the tunnel a bit.’ I looked
to Yulia. ‘Which way?’
She pointed in the same direction as the flow of
water. ‘This way.’
She led off, and I waded through the water after
her, carefully testing the ground beneath each foot to make sure that I had a
firm footing. Thoughts of me or one of my men falling into an open drain and
disappearing into the murky water filled me with dread, and I made sure that
all of my weight was removed from my lead foot until I was certain that the
ground was solid. The water lapped around my waist, soaking through my armour
and my combats and sending a chill through my body. I shivered involuntarily.
Once we had left enough space for the platoon to
form up behind us, I whispered for Yulia to stop. It was annoying having to
stop again, but I couldn’t really move off until a sizeable portion of our
manpower were in the water, otherwise I would risk leaving people behind. Yulia
seemed to accept this without question - which was to be expected given her
past military experience.
One by one, the platoon quickly filed into the
sewer, each trooper stopping to help his comrade behind him. Ropes fell down at
either side of the drain, attached to something within the room above to
provide us with the
delivered the message as if we were transmitting in the open.
I knew what he was thinking when he sent the message.
Fortunately, for us, the warren network extended all the way into its lowest
levels, but it was unlikely to extend into the sewer system.
‘We could leave link men as we go, sir,’ I urged.
‘That way we’ll keep comms going.’
Although our individual comms couldn’t transmit
through rock, our range was clearly far greater than the length of any tunnel,
so the distance we could cover whilst maintaining comms to the surface depended
entirely on how many corners and junctions the sewer system presented us with. It
was worth a try.
The sergeant major looked over his shoulder. ‘Three
Section, let’s get some ropes set up, just in case we need to get out.’ He
turned back to me. ‘Go on, then, Corporal Moralee.’
I perched on the edge of the drain, then braced my
arms either side of me as I slowly eased myself down into the icy water. The
cold instantly took my breath away, and I struggled to retain my composure.
Yulia grabbed me by the waist, helping to lower me
without making a splash. I was carrying a lot more equipment than she was,
after all.
‘Shit . . .’ I breathed once my feet found solid
ground. ‘That’s cold.’
For a moment I thought I saw a smile flash across
Yulia’s face - though it might have just been a reflection in her respirator.
‘It is very cold,’ she agreed. ‘This is why nobody would want to come down
here.’
Realisation suddenly spread across my face, the cold
forgotten. ‘This is where you hid the missiles, isn’t it?’
She nodded. ‘Yes. After the Alliance retreated and
our old politicians surrendered, we moved the missiles into the sewerage system
because we knew the Union weapons inspectors wouldn’t find them here. I was
still a child when this happened.’
‘Edo stopped letting the inspectors in, though,
didn’t they?’ I asked, already knowing the answer. Edo had stopped allowing us
to inspect their warrens for weapons not long after the president took control
and the Presidential Guard were formed.
‘That is correct,’ Yulia agreed, ‘but your spies and
special forces could still find them . . .’
‘A little help here?’ Myers interrupted from above.
I looked up to see him dangling awkwardly from the
drain. It looked as though his daysack had become caught on something.
I reached up and grabbed him around the waist,
gently helping him down into the water just as Yulia had for me.
‘Shit the bed!’ the young trooper exclaimed as the
icy water lapped around him. ‘Why has it got to be so cold?’
I ignored his complaint, and instead gestured
upward. ‘Help the next man down, mate. I’ll push up the tunnel a bit.’ I looked
to Yulia. ‘Which way?’
She pointed in the same direction as the flow of
water. ‘This way.’
She led off, and I waded through the water after
her, carefully testing the ground beneath each foot to make sure that I had a
firm footing. Thoughts of me or one of my men falling into an open drain and
disappearing into the murky water filled me with dread, and I made sure that
all of my weight was removed from my lead foot until I was certain that the
ground was solid. The water lapped around my waist, soaking through my armour
and my combats and sending a chill through my body. I shivered involuntarily.
Once we had left enough space for the platoon to
form up behind us, I whispered for Yulia to stop. It was annoying having to
stop again, but I couldn’t really move off until a sizeable portion of our
manpower were in the water, otherwise I would risk leaving people behind. Yulia
seemed to accept this without question - which was to be expected given her
past military experience.
One by one, the platoon quickly filed into the
sewer, each trooper stopping to help his comrade behind him. Ropes fell down at
either side of the drain, attached to something within the room above to
provide us with the
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