Episode 66. Into the Red Bunker
Context
- Coordinated Universal Time
- Wednesday, August 7, 2024 - 19:54
- Location
-
- Earth
- Russia
- Moscow
- Subterranean Network
- Corridors
- Timeline
- Schak'Irra Timeline
- Previously
-
After the precarious victory against the alien vessel, the appearance of the Andorian Tarsi exposed the possibility of temporal contamination altering reality. NATO launches the second mission of Operation: Reclaim Earth. In parallel, Admiral Michaux gives Rodriguez a secret mission targeting the Kremlin. Agnes assembles a team and descends onto a Red Square reduced to ruins: out of six shuttles, two are shot down, and only the four remaining craft reach the capital. The scans reveal a titanic subterranean network sheltering nearly one million people. After reconnaissance, Foxtrot Unit finds a partially cleared access point, and the infiltration can begin.
Characters
| Name | Affiliation / Branch | Title / Rank | Species | Original Timeline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agnes V. Rodriguez | NATO / Special Fleet | Captain | Human | Schak'Irra Timeline |
| Tarsi | Starfleet / Temporal Division | Commander | Andorian | Prime Timeline |
| Robert Gomard | NATO / Army | Colonel | Human | Schak'Irra Timeline |
| Eros Vitos | NATO / Special Fleet | Ensign | Human | Schak'Irra Timeline |
| Delta Unit | NATO / Army | Assault Unit | Human | Schak'Irra Timeline |
| Unknown | Unknown | N/A | Unknown | N/A |
Manifest
| USS Enterprise | |
|---|---|
| Affiliation | NATO |
| Location | Earth Orbit |
| Captain | Agnes V. Rodriguez |
| First Officer | Angie Chen |
| Pilot | Eric Corda |
| Communications | Emilie Flores |
| Operations | Charlene Savea |
| Tactical | Eric Corda Charlene Savea |
| Science | Manu |
| Advanced Weapons | Eros Vitos |
| Sickbay | Victor S. Calpel |
| Advisor/Consultant | Manu |
| Custodian | Manu |
| Passengers | Tarsi (Confidential) Robert Gomard and his squad |
| Ground Teams |
Alpha Unit: Robert Gomard, Agnes V. Rodriguez, Eros Vitos, Tarsi, 5 soldiers Charlie Unit: 9 soldiers Delta Unit: 9 soldiers Foxtrot Unit: 9 soldiers |
TL;DR
Agnes's squad pushes into the filthy corridors of the vast subterranean network beneath Moscow, advancing in single file toward the Kremlin's central block. Tarsi scans, Eros sets up security fields, and Colonel Gomard leads the maneuver. The atmosphere is oppressive, punctuated by strange noises that put everyone on alert. The armored door to the block is about to give way: the imminent entry promises revelations... or traps.
Story
Our elite Alpha, Delta, and Foxtrot units carefully enter a new corridor, with Colonel Gomard at the head.
Tarsi, Eros, and I bring up the rear.
The soldiers advance in single file, silent.
Their footsteps echo faintly in this long, dark, damp corridor that leads us as close as possible to our final destination: the central block, buried beneath the Kremlin Palace.
Tarsi scans the surroundings with her tricorder, while I observe the walls, covered in faded graffiti and large damp stains.
Cmdr. Tarsi
To reach the central block, we still need to follow this tunnel for about fifteen hundred meters.
We can advance without immediate risk.
I detect no life signs within a radius of two hundred meters.
Capt. Agnes V. Rodriguez
We are not yet in a hermetically isolated zone.
Look at these walls, Tarsi.
They are porous.
The moisture seeping in still contains radioactive particles.
Ens. Eros Vitos (Weapons Engineer)
Yuck...
There are dead rats.
Col. Robert Gomard (Army)
Quiet!
You are going to get us spotted!
Cmdr. Tarsi
Stop.
Listen.
Capt. Agnes V. Rodriguez
What is it, Tarsi?
Cmdr. Tarsi
I heard a strange noise.
Col. Robert Gomard (Army)
It is the radioactive fumes going to your head.
They are making you imagine things.
Cmdr. Tarsi
I am serious, Colonel.
I heard something... unusual.
Capt. Agnes V. Rodriguez
I do not hear anything.
Unknown
...Skrrkk chlkkk tsssk zzzip sssschk...
Cmdr. Tarsi
Again.
Did you hear that?
Ens. Eros Vitos (Weapons Engineer)
I did.
It sounds like someone whispering... into an empty beer can.
Capt. Agnes V. Rodriguez
Hmm... Yes.
I heard it too.
It sounds like clicking.
Ens. Eros Vitos (Weapons Engineer)
I can also make out more distant sounds.
Gunfire... and screams.
Capt. Agnes V. Rodriguez
It is possible the Russians are killing each other.
The latest reports from our intelligence services mentioned internal purges.
Factions, militias... that may have made the regime implode before seizing the Kremlin.
Ens. Eros Vitos (Weapons Engineer)
And, while they were at it, pushed the nuclear button on July 15.
Cmdr. Tarsi
I do not believe that for a second.
In my world, Putin controlled everything with an iron fist.
He eliminated every opponent without remorse to stay in power.
He was terrified of coups.
If he really authorized nuclear use, he got himself to safety long before that.
Certainly not in this rat hole.
Capt. Agnes V. Rodriguez
In your world, and from the little I know, YOUR Putin almost sounds like a Care Bear.
Ours invaded half the planet and has been taunting us for more than thirty years.
He has plenty of enemies.
And he is not safe from threats coming from inside his own criminal empire.
Col. Robert Gomard (Army)
Stop.
We are at an intersection.
Tarsi, which of these five corridors should we take?
Cmdr. Tarsi
Straight ahead, Colonel.
Another hundred meters or so... and we will reach the block.
Capt. Agnes V. Rodriguez
Eros, raise a force field on every exit we are not taking.
That way we will limit any attempt to hit us from behind if we are spotted.
Ens. Eros Vitos (Weapons Engineer)
Aye, Captain.
The force fields deploy silently behind us, sealing the secondary accesses in a diffuse glow.
We resume our progress, even more slowly.
The corridor narrows, the walls grow thicker, reinforced with roughly welded metal plates.
Ahead of us, the gloom gradually gives way to a massive structure that stands apart from the rest of the network.
An armored door.
And behind it... the heart of the bunker.
Cmdr. Tarsi
Colonel, this access leads directly to the block.
Beyond it... I detect life signs on several levels.
Col. Robert Gomard (Army)
Delta Unit, unlock this armored door.
Delta Unit
Aye, Colonel.
Unknown
...Skrrkk chlkkk tsssk zzzip sssschk...
Col. Robert Gomard (Army)
What was that?
Cmdr. Tarsi
The voices I have been hearing for a while, Colonel.
While waiting for Delta Unit to manage to open the door, I remain frozen.
The strange noises echo through the corridors, mingling with the electric hum of the faulty neon lights blinking intermittently.
The air is heavy, charged with moisture and an almost palpable tension.
Everything here feels hostile to me.
Unstable.
The Russian underground installations have nothing to do with our NATO bunkers.
They are larger, more anarchic... and profoundly unsanitary.
I struggle to understand how anyone can survive in a place like this.
And yet, beneath our feet, there are hundreds of thousands of them.
And we are entering their home.