Chapter 85 - Imminent

<---Chapter 84 - Mindtwister|Table of Contents|Chapter 86 - Prison Break--->

Gordon grunted as he gripped a wrench tightly, trying to loosen a nut that was bolted tightly to the machine. "Come on, you dumb shit, come on - Urgh!" The wrench lost its alignment, the imbalance throwing him backwards as it went soaring through the sky, clattering onto the factory floor.

The managers all stood around staring at Gordon desparately trying to fix the machine, irking him even more. "What are you dumb idiots standing around for? This is not the only machine broken, isn't it?"

"Sir, but we don't know how to fix the other machines as well!"

"JUST TRY SOMETHING! If we let the machines falter any longer, we'll be seriously behind our deadline! You think your jobs will be safe as well?!" Gordon yelled at the top of his lungs, frightening the managers into action.

Gordon wiped the oil off his cheeks and nose, ordering another group of technicians to take over fixing the machine. He gritted his teeth as he stomped through the factory, the last three weeks of non-stop production taking a toll on him. He could not even take time off to go enjoy himself at the Seductive Serpent or the casino, not with the ever-increasing number of problems.

At first, it was only a single machine that broke down. Then afterwards it became injuries, casualties, workplace safety issues. With each machine broken, the other assembly lines were driven to work harder by Gordon, only exacerbating the fatigue cycles of the other production machine and causing them to fail as well. How in the world are we supposed to hit the target now?

What's more, there was rumors of the formation of a secret group of sorts, one made of workers under the blessing of the Society. Gordon had no doubts that it was this group that was attempting to sabotage the production lines, disguising the machines failures as an error in management or overwork. "Crack down on any, ANY worker that tries to tamper with the damn machines. I want light-capturers set up everywhere all around the clock, and anyone who is so much of a suspect, arrest them indefinitely!"

The pressure and stress had turned Gordon into a fearsome manager, partly driven by the fear of what Kyle might do to him when Kyle returned to Raktor. As Gordon grumbled and complained to every foreman he could get his hands on, the production technicians kept their heads low, unwilling to lose their job or stand up directly. Amdist the numerous faces who stole a glance at the raging Gordon, Culo stared at Gordon, his face burning with hatred.

"Relax, comrade." A hand was placed on his shoulder, reminding him not to stare to long. "Your vigor and loyalty shall prove itself in due time."

"Sorry, Gunther. It's just... that manager is not even in the slightest bit remorseful of what pains he is inflicting on the workers. It's like he doesn't even give a single shit about safety at all!"

"That is what all the pigs at the top think of us. Just mere pawns to move around so as to fill their coffers. A disgusting social order, imposed by force. But soon, we shall have that force soon." Gunther muttered in a low tone, focused on etching the armor piece in front of him.

"When will we act?"

"Soon, soon. And you shall lead the charge." Gunther smiled as the lunch bell rang, the workers congregating in the lunch canteen once more.

Instead of the usual dejected faces that used to be ever-present amongst the workers, they instead held knowing looks, their eyes glancing shiftly as they gave slight nods to others around, eating in silence and watching out for Seven Snakes guards.

None of them talked to each other, not even Culo and Gunther as they sat away from each other amdist unknown workers, masking their affilation to one another. If the Seven Snakes guard had been looking carefully, however, they would have noticed a burning rage and fire in nearly half of the workers present.

Gunther shared a glance with Culo, before motioning with his finger, as if he was twirling his curly hair. Instantly, two other workers starting yelling at each other. "That pudding was mine, you bitchface!" The first hollered as loud as he could, attracting attention.

"Oh yea? Well too bad! What you going to do?" The second taunted, before earning the full force of a metal lunch tray still dripping with sauce right into his face. The tray spun off, smacking into another worker who immediately took offense, a brawl breaking out.

My time to shine. Culo finished his lunch quickly, standing up to return his tray before walking off. But instead of heading back towards the production lines, he headed towards a Seven Snakes recruit blocking a small door, who was clearly distracted by the fight brewing in the lunch canteen and speaking rapidly into his arctech radio.

Once I get past these doors, I'll smuggle the-

Before he could sneak past through the door, a gauntlet suddenly grabbed his collar behind, dragging him back to come face-to-face with the recruit. "Where the fuck do you think you are going? You're not allowed past here!"

Culo didn't reply, instead acting oblivious and putting on his most believable act. "Sir, I was just trying to go to the toliet! I'm new here!"

"Don't try to fool me, your number shows you're clearly one of the first day hires! Now get back before I-" A bowl of soup smashed against the Seven Snakes recruit's head, prompting him to look away, buying enough time for Culo to break free of the recruit's grip, before twisting the recruit's head around into an armlock, dragging him through the door before anybody spotted him.

Culo jerked his head as the grappled recruit attempted to wrestle out of the lock, throwing punches in desperation. An elbow drove deep into Culo's ribs, causing him to wince and nearly loosen his grip. In one smooth motion, he drew a small purple potion flask from his overalls' pocket and pulled the cork with his teeth, before pouring it onto the recruit's face.

The recruit sputtered as the liquid blocked his view, but his motions began to slow down tremedously, as if he were slowly becoming more and more lethargic. "You won't get away with this!" He spoke through an ever-tightening grip on his neck.

"By the time you wake up, we'll be done." Culo tighten his lock even more, cutting the airflow to the recruit's brain who finally began to lay limp.

Culo hurriedly stripped him of his armour, putting on the helmet. He found a nearby empty crate to dump the recruit in, heaving the body over and shifting the crate to a hidden place between the towering shelves of materials and rifles.

He had not seen the layout of the entire factory before, but memorized the blueprints for over a week and a half now. Acting with purpose, he deliberately approached the loading dock where wagon drivers were waiting for the next shipment to deliver to a separate storehouse.

"Hey, Peter!" Another Seven Snakes guard stationed there called out to him towards him. "Whatchu doing here? Skiving? Weren't you just shouting for help at the canteen just now?"

"Yea, it's too rough, I had to get out of there."

"What?! Are you crazy? If we let the workers riot out of control they'll send us to the damn Culdao Peaks! I sure as hell don't want to end up like those mad murderous fuckers who came back - they give me the creeps."

"If you wanna do something about it, go ahead. I got an order from the top that I'm swapping with you."

"Huh? First I heard of that, I didn't see anything like that during our morning briefing." The other guard frowned as he leaned back against the crate, eyeing Culo warily.

"Ask the vipers, I'm just following orders."

"Vipers? Huh... okay. How bad is in there? I'm not going in there alone, right?"

"I don't know, but you finally get to beat people up, right?"

"Damn right I do. One of the perks of being a Seven Snakes, yea? By the way, you sure you alright? Your voice is a bit funny." The other Seven Snakes guard squinted, inspecting Culo.

Instead of letting him inquire anymore, Culo brandished the rifle he stole from the recruit, his finger resting on the trigger. "You making fun of me? We can settle this outside."

"Oh yea?" The other guard grinned, standing up to his full height with his rifle brought to bear as well. Culo clutched the grip of his rifle, his mind racing. I don't know how to use the rifle at all... shit! What if he-

"Alright, alright, you got it man. Hey, what's the matter? Relax, I'm going. Have fun watching wooden crates move to and fro." The other Seven Snakes guard slung his rifle back and held his hands up in jovial surrender, walking off with the rifle towards the lunch canteen.

As soon as Culo took his post, a unmarked wagon drove into the loading bay, the driver getting out and giving a quick nod to Culo. The two moved with purpose, hauling crates out one-by-one and stacking them into the back of the wagon.

"Hey, hey, hey!" One of the loaders ran over panicking. "Those crates aren't supposed to be shipped until two days later!"

"I got orders to get this out as fast as possible. The military wants them right now. Or are you saying you know more than me?" Culo assumed a threatening stance, the feeble loader shrinking immediately and scampering off without another complaint.

Soon, the wagon was loaded to the brim with almost ten crates of rifles and armor, just as the end of lunch time was heralded by the ever-present gong of the factory's clock. Culo slapped the back of the wagon, prompting the driver to leave as soon as he had arrived. He ditched the stolen armour and rifle in a separate crate, before quickly returning to his position in the assembly line.

As he walked slowly through the factory floor, guards and managers alike all ran past him, intent on containing the growing riot in the lunch canteen. No one suspected him at all, with none stopping to even give him a second glance.

A hand rested on his shoulder, nearly causing him to yelp out of anxiety. "Calm down, comrade. Is it done?"

"The wagon should be on its way to Wrent now."

"Good. You have proven your loyalty to the cause." Gunther nodded, taking a seat next to him. No one suspected the two of them, and neither would they try to disrupt their work. The two of them were by far the most productive members of the production team here - which only hardened Culo's heart against the managers, especially when his only reward was an increase in hours with no changes in wages.

The work progressed without so much as a word shared between the two, each of them focusing on their work while the rioters at the lunch canteen were ferried out. One of them slightly nodded in Gunther's direction, Gunther returning a knowing look.

The atmosphere in the factory was like a burning tension, a undetectable rage that spread like wildfire. Managers, foremen, and Seven Snakes guards were well aware of the growing unrest and disobedience of the workers, taking proactive action to check workers for weapons and other equipment they might be smuggling out.

Another grating sound erupted on the factory floor, the sound of another machine jammed once more. Already the common sounds of managers whining and foremen screaming could be heard, a part of the recent work environment. Each wail gave Gunther a slight smile on his face, while Culo kept his grin hidden, hardly unable to wait for the right time to strike.

Soon, their shift was over, and like clockwork over the last two weeks, Culo and Gunther made their separate way to yet another meeting point, each location different from the day before. This time, the meeting point was far from the factory, near the boundary towards the Left Paw of the Red Lion's district.

As Culo rasped his hand on a discreet door, it swung open, welcoming hands dragging him and celebrating with loud cheer in the musky basement, a former arcia boiler room that had now be outfitted to be a gathering spots. Chairs and tables were loosely arranged under the flickering light of the arctech lanterns pilfered from other abandoned buildings.

Nearly a hundred workers were gathered here in the meeting, many congratulating Culo on the successful heist. "Great work, lad! Knew you had in you, you're one of us now."

Culo beamed as he accepted handshake and hugs one after another, uncaring about the grime, soot and oil present on all of them. They wore them as signs and marks of their hard labour. "Of course, anything for us. But they would find out soon enough."

The workers began to stream in one by one, until the room was packed to the brim, each of them engaging in energetic conversations about the future. "Fuck those pigs, let them find out we got weapons. Maybe they'll finally learn their fucking place and stop killing children!" Another worker yelled out, clearly drunk on stolen alcohol.

"Damn right, those fuckers live on our back-breaking labour"

"Yea, those managers have no clue how to run a fucking factory. If it was me, I'll make sure everyone only does eight hours, and no more children on the floor!"

"We should strike, right now! Now's the chance!" A worker shouted out, some groaning in response.

"Correct, Comrade. The time to strike is tonight." Gunther's voice carried over the din of celebratory cheer, instantly mollifying the workers who were all caught off-guard.

"Tonight? But we're not ready yet! It'll take time for us to get used to the weapons and armour to mount a proper resistance!"

"There is no time. They would begin to crack down immediately once they discover the missing weapons and armour. How long do you still want to be oppressed? How long do you still want to suffer? All of you may have joined the union for a different reason, be it for the Goddess, for a better wage, or for safety. But we are all united against one single foe - the Seven Snakes." Gunther took an iron stick, jabbing it onto a table where a simple crude map of the district had been etched out, already rife with marks indicating their various outpost.

"Over the past month, we have accumulated thousands of valiant comrades and heroic brothers from all walks of life, some of whom are currently languishing in prisons, toiling away in unknown conditions. Right beneath the very floor of the factory, enslaved prisoners toil away unseen, unheard! All men are equal: Goddess, Sanctum, or neither! The only men who are less that dirt are those who try to lord themselves over others." Gunther riled up the workers.

"YEA!"

"And they are only propped up into their position by virtue of our labour! They live frivousvly on the fruits of our labour, while we grit our teeth and break our backs just for a paltry wage, one that is highly dangerous. Think of all the children and men who have died in accidents so far - how many could have prevented? Yet what do the managers do when they see one of us die? They strike another mark of the list of thousands, and replace us with yet another migrant."

"They treat us like cattle!" One of the workers roared in response, earning agreement from the others.

"We might outnumber them, but we're outgunned! Kyle and his vipers are ruthless to the bone - they control our housing as well!" Some of the more cautious workers spoke out, many of whom were living in the apartments built specifically for that role.

"Would you rather die free, or live like livestocks, cramped into apartments that barely has enough living space for two, to sacrifice your souls for the production of weapons meant to kill other men?" Gunther shot back. "NOW IS THE TIME! Tonight, the slavers and tyrants will know what it means to oppress us, to step on us. For enough is enough - we fight! For wages, safety, and unity!"

"For wages, safety and unity!" The workers chanted back at the top of their lungs, Culo screaming at the top of his lungs.

"Our insider in the Seven Snakes has already been informed. Operation Brilliant Flame is now in effect." Gunther began to organize the workers according to the preordained plan, dividing them into attack groups and handing each of them a crate filled to the brim with arcite ore. As Culo stepped forward to receive his crate, Gunther instead pulled him off to the side. "You have already proven yourself, comrade. Stay out of this one."

Culo looked a bit forlorn, until Gunther led him to another room, which clearly housed the upper council of the union, who were already frantically issuing orders through messengers and coordinating ground movement through a myriad of arctech radios laid out along the walls. A replica map of the district was already being utilized to mobilize each attack group from various locations. He recognized markers like the Lusty Arcian and the Seductive Serpent, making him hesitate a little at what Gunther was planning for him. "Gunther, those locations would be heavily defended by the Seven Snakes - they are mainstays of their operations. I don't think I would be able to -"

"Do not worry, those places are mere distractions to allow the rest of our brothers to strike accurately. And you are no longer a mere foot soldier - You will now be part of the council. Your valor will be critical in helming our protests and strikes tomorrow."

Culo's heart surged with pride, nodding vigorously as a young messenger brushed past them, hurriedly delivering a sealed letter to another cell group by foot. The moment the messenger left the hideout however, he instead made a sharp turn, instead moving through a nearby slum to lose anyone tracking him.

The messenger deftly avoided the dwellers and pickpockets, skipping over clearly intoxicated bodies and swerving past a crazy lunatic screaming at the top of his lungs in joy, his mouth frothing with green bubbles. Sharp turns and tight corners masked his path, the messenger soon approaching an inconspicuous building, seeing a hooded individual waiting in the dark alleyway.

The messenger slipped the individual a rolled message. "Duplicate of the letter sent to the other union members. The pot boils tonight. If I'm caught..."

"Understood. The Seven Snakes never forgets one of their own."

With that short exchange, the messenger left as fast as he arrived, the hooded individual now retreating into a recess and reading the letter. He whipped out an arctech radio with a clear panic in his actions. [Reporting to vipers - the workers are attacking tonight.]

<---Chapter 84 - Mindtwister|Table of Contents|Chapter 86 - Prison Break--->