by Dillon Fisher (7th)
A strong gust of wind swept in from the north, and the rain pelted the roofs and windows with a rhythmic pat pat pat. It was a quiet and relaxing evening—most people were inside their homes, reading, playing games with family and friends, enjoying the peace. Everything seemed perfect.
But it wasn’t.
A lone figure stood on a rooftop, gazing over the Gold Sector of Aculon City. Dressed in a full-body camo suit, he scanned the city, unmoving. Then, without hesitation, he leaped from the rooftop, landing effortlessly on another. He sprinted across the skyline, moving from house to house, blending into the shadows.
“Ghardos, you better be careful,” a voice crackled through his MDT—Medium Distance Transmitter, though most just called them Coms. “People are starting to get suspicious of you. I mean, you are stomping on their rooftops.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Ghardos replied, “I’ll be fine.”
He kept running until he reached his target—a 12X Conduit Power Facility. Incredibly powerful, it produced staggering amounts of energy every year. The perimeter wall stood 15 feet tall and was electrified. Breaking in was easier said than done. But that had never stopped Ghardos before.
“Okay, I’m at the southern boundary,” he reported over the Com. “What’s next?”
“See the big gate?” Soron’s voice came through. “There’s a small section of the wall that isn’t electrified. No idea why, but it’s open for you to climb.”
“Easier said than done,” Ghardos muttered as he started scaling the wall. Within three-quarters of a minute, he was at the top. “Never mind.”
“Alright, I know what to do now, so stay covered,” he told Soron as he casually hopped off a ten-foot ledge, landing unscathed. “And don’t get caught. If things go south, escape. Ditch me—I’ll figure it out.”
Bound by the Troopers’ Code, he normally wouldn’t target something as vital as a power facility—innocents depended on it. But rumors of a secret lab inside had reached his team. When Fonsu investigated, the rumors proved true.
“Let’s hope for the best,” Ghardos muttered to himself. “It’d be a shame to get caught now.”
He stretched, warming up his muscles, then began climbing the facility’s exterior. His entry point: a small air shaft on the roof.
“Deep breath. Let’s do this.”
After a grueling climb, he finally pulled himself onto the rooftop. He took a moment to catch his breath, then glanced back at the wall he had just scaled. Tall. Not as tall as the Organizer’s penthouse, but still, pretty tall.
“Here we go.”
With that, he slipped into the air shaft.