Relic of the Cold War Part I

The room was dimly lit, a single flickering bulb swaying overhead as Victor, leaned against the edge of the table. His sharp eyes scanned the group, lingering on each of them before he spoke.

“The job’s simple,” he began, his gravelly voice commanding attention. “Our client wants a relic from an old rocket silo. Something from the ‘80s, an artifact of significant historical and technological value. He is paying well, but this isn’t a cakewalk.”

He gestured toward a holographic map projected onto the table. “The facility is deep in no-man’s-land. Officially abandoned, but who knows what’s still operational. That’s why Axon’s leading this one. Her expertise with ancient tech will keep you alive.”

Axon gave a curt nod, adjusting the strap of her gear pack.

As the team absorbed Victor’s words, 1MIN raised an eyebrow. “Why am I not leading the op? I’m the team leader.”

Victor’s sharp gaze locked onto him. “Because you’re coming with me.”

The room fell silent. Even Axon looked up, her curiosity piqued.

Victor straightened, his tone firm but laced with finality. “That’s another job, a top-secret one. The rest of the team doesn’t need to know the details.”

1MIN didn’t press further, but his jaw tightened in quiet acknowledgment.

Victor turned his attention back to the team. “You’re Team Twilight for this mission. Axon’s in charge. Follow her lead and secure the relic. Do your jobs, and you’ll be well compensated.”

He gestured toward the door. “Now move out. Clock’s ticking.”

With a mix of resolve and tension, the team gathered their gear and stepped into the cold night, leaving Victor and 1MIN behind.

They arrived at the bunker just after dusk. The facility was as imposing as it was desolate, a hulking concrete relic of a bygone era. The group took cautious steps toward the site, their breath misting in the chilly air. Strangely, there were no guards, no signs of surveillance, nothing to indicate the bunker was under anyone’s control. It felt too quiet, too easy.

Spectral scanned the area with his tablet, a faint blue glow illuminating his face. “No digital signals.” He muttered. “No power, no surveillance, nothing. This place is a ghost.”

The bunker’s main entrance was locked tight, the steel door rusted shut. While Panzer grumbled about needing explosives, Axon calmly analysed the surrounding area. They eventually found a damaged rocket silo, its thick cover cracked open by time and neglect.

“Through there,” Axon said, already pulling tools from her pack. With a little ingenuity and a lot of mechanical know-how, she rigged a system to lower them into the silo. Despite Panzer’s clumsy footing and Karl’s muttered complaints, they reached the bottom safely.

Inside, the bunker was eerily pristine for its age. Dust coated the floors, but the equipment looked untouched. It felt as though the place had been locked away and forgotten, waiting for their arrival. Axon and Spectral immediately set to work, scanning for signs of a security system. Their conclusion was both reassuring and concerning: the bunker was completely dead, with no electricity running through its veins.

“We could search this place in the dark, but it’s like looking for a needle in a haystack.” Spectral said.

Axon nodded. “If we can get the system online, we’ll have a better chance of finding the relic. But before that, we need to inspect the control room. There could still be dormant security protocols.”

As she spoke, Panzer wandered over to a set of large, dusty generators. “This looks like the power source.” He said, poking at the control panel.

“Don’t touch anything!” Axon snapped, not even looking up.

But Panzer, being Panzer, didn’t listen. With a triumphant grin, he hit a switch. The generators sputtered to life with a deafening roar, sending vibrations through the floor.

“Panzer, you idiot!” Axon shouted, already on her feet. The lights flickered on, dim and ominous, and a distant alarm began to wail. Steel safety doors slammed shut throughout the bunker, sealing off corridors and blocking their path out of the silo.

The team sprinted for the exit, but the bunker was faster. One of the heavy doors came down just as they reached it, catching Axon’s right arm in its crushing grip. She screamed a sound none of them had ever heard from her before.

Karl froze, staring at her trapped limb with wide eyes. “Axon!”

“Cut it off!” She said through gritted teeth, her voice commanding despite the agony.

“What? I can’t-”

“Do it!” She barked, but Karl’s hesitation was clear. Gritting her teeth against the pain, Axon pulled a multi-tool from her belt and did it herself, severing her mangled arm with brutal efficiency. Panzer, pale and trembling, rushed to her side, quickly applying a makeshift tourniquet to stem the bleeding.

“Stay focused, we’re not done yet.” Axon hissed, her voice hoarse but steady.

Trapped inside, the team regrouped and assessed their situation. The main doors were sealed, but the rest of the bunker’s hallways remained accessible. Spectral found the control room door, but it was locked tight. Using Axon’s tools and her instructions, he worked furiously to get it open while she leaned against the wall, her face pale but determined.

Once inside, Spectral immediately dove into the ancient system. The terminal’s interface was archaic, a relic from nearly a century ago. Frustration quickly set in as he realized how unresponsive and unfamiliar the technology was. Axon tried to guide him, but her patience wore thin, and her injury wasn’t helping matters.

“Panzer and Karl, you’re not doing anything useful here. Go find the relic!” Axon said, her voice sharp.

The two men exchanged glances, then headed off into the maze of hallways.

“I screwed up.” Panzer muttered after a few minutes of silence.

Karl glanced at him. “What?”

“This whole mess. The doors, Axon’s arm… it’s my fault. I’m always screwing things up.”

Karl didn’t know what to say, so Panzer continued. “I was a failure my whole life. Couldn’t hold a job, couldn’t do anything right. My family sent me to the military just to get rid of me. Turns out, I was good at it. Really good. But then I found myself at the frontlines of the Second Soviet-Afghan war. We were ambushed. Lost all my limbs. I was useless again, and my family didn’t even want me back. Ended up homeless.”

Karl listened, the weight of Panzer’s words settling heavily in the quiet hallway.

“Victor found me, pulled me out of the gutter, gave me these prosthetics, gave me a purpose. And now I’m screwing that up too.” Panzer said, his voice soft.

Karl clapped a hand on his shoulder. “You’re not useless, Panzer. Yeah, you make mistakes. We all do. But you’ve got heart. That counts for something.”

They came upon a server room with a door that hadn’t fully sealed. Pushing it open, they found rows of ancient computers and servers. Panzer’s mood lifted slightly as they searched.

“Found it!” Karl finally said, pulling a hard drive encased in reinforced metal from one of the server racks.

“Let’s get this back to Axon and Spectral!” Panzer said.

When they returned, Spectral was still battling with the bunker’s systems, his frustration palpable. Axon sat nearby, her face pale and drawn, but her sharp eyes missed nothing.

“Got it!” Karl said, holding up the relic.

Axon’s lips twitched into the faintest hint of a smile. “Good. Now let’s figure out how to get out of here.”