Mission Orion: The Travel through Time

| Chapter 57 |

"C'mon! C'mon!" Montwik yelled as we furiously made our way up the staircase. The smoke was so intense we had to switch to our backup oxygen supply from our suits. The explosions increased in frequency over time and the roof started caving in at certain places. We had lost five more soldiers, but we had to move on, leaving us no time to at least try search for them underneath the rubble. My legs started to ache from all the climbing, but the adrenaline pumping through my body kept me going. I occasionally looked back to check if Reneesh and the others were following. They seemed tired too, but the fear among all us kept us going. The cuffs made it hard for Konrad and Anna to walk up, but we really didn't have another choice. This was the only way all of us would be safe. We occasionally heard voices of people, who still were probably making their way down to safety. We never had anyone running into us the whole time. The staircase indeed was abandoned. 

We were on the staircase between Level Minus One and Level Minus Two when Montwik's Satellite phone finally received strong signals. "Alright guys, hold on, I'm going to try establishing contact with the base." He announced, as he began to try establish contact with base.

"This is Alpha 1012 to Beta Base. Do you copy?"

"This is Base to Alpha 1012. We copy you. Where have you been, Montwik?" 

"We are inside the palace. We are trying to make our way out of the palace whilst you are bombing it." 

"Well, you need to get out of there as soon as possible. The battle is getting intense."

"We are going to be at the exit of Tunnel 15."

"Roger that. A pick up team will be ready to pick you up as soon as you step of out that tunnel. Tunnel 15 is on the other end of the palace. You will not be in the war zone."

"Roger that. What is the status of the war?" 

"We are preparing for final ground assault. We will brief you once you are rescued." 

"Roger that, base."

"This is base. The rescue team has been dispatched. They will be there in fifteen minutes. The jet cannot wait for long, there is a fierce aerial battle above you." 

"We hear you, base. We will be there in fifteen. Alpha 1012, over and out."

"Base, out."

***

"We need to get up there, now. Holder, set your watch to fifteen minutes. Mark." Montwik said, as we started to climb up to the surface. The bombing had died down a little, and we could hear the sound of the heavy artillery being fired. We had reached Level Minus One when we heard voices above us. "The doors automatically opened when we put the palace on code red and they escaped." We heard a voice say. "All of them?" Another voice asked. WIth a start I realised that the second voice belonged to Profus. All of now stood as still as statues and listened to the voices above us. It seemed like they were standing right above us on the staircase and we could not make it past them without them noticing us. "Yes sir, all of them." The first voice replied. "Did the cameras catch them?" Profus asked. "One of the two camera systems crashed when the palace was attacked, sir. A very few cameras are still functioning. The last we saw them, they were heading up, probably back to the surface which leads us to believe that they have arranged a rescue mission for themselves." He replied. "Keep the Air Force posted about this. And issue shoot on sight orders to all the soldiers. They can shoot them if they see them, but I need Anna and Konrad alive. Under no circumstances can they be killed, okay? Send the update to all the soldiers immediately." Profus ordered. We heard the other man send out the orders to the respective departments and then there was a long pause. "Profus, we have information that a jet from the Crux Army has strayed away from the squadron and is heading towards the D sector of the outer perimeter. They say it may be the rescue jet." He said. "D sector?" Profus asked him. "Yes, sir." He replied. "I think I know where they are heading. Let's go." Profus said, as we heard footsteps of them walking away. "Is it safe to go?" Holder asked Montwik. Montwik peeked up the staircase and put his thumb up. "Be careful." He said as he made his way up the stairs, pointing his gun, into the darkness. Streaks of light made their way from the huge cracks on the ceiling. I could see the clear blue sky from the cracks, and occasionally a fighter jet pass by. The most commonly prevalent thing was smoke. It was everywhere. We climbed through the heavy concrete slabs which had collapsed and made our way up to the surface.