Breaking Facade

"The world powers were threatened. No longer were the machines striking weak third-world countries. Now the strongest were being attacked. No one was safe and the public demanded an end to be brought to the machine once and for all. A united force dispatched throughout the world hunting down the machines. While at home the streets were a blaze with riots the likes no one had seen. The people were crazed with paranoia and fear of machines lashing out at whatever they could find.”

Herbert Stein, Machine Historian -

The street and parking lot was filled with rifle fire exchanged across barricades. The human soldiers were pinned down and forced to stay undercover while the machines in disguise pressed their surprise attack. Over the battlefield numerous bodies lay spread across the ground bleeding out hanging a crimson smell in the air. In the middle of the fighting an officer retreated from the frontlines going to the tent that was already riddled with numerous holes with the guards dead at their posts. He knew that the General was interrogating the captives and in the fighting anything could have happened.

The officer took cover on the ground as a burst of bullets split the rope supporting the tent. Once the air was clear again he slowly walked crouched over entering the tent. He looked around, finding it surprisingly empty and then the General on the floor safe from the line of holes that were barely above him. "General! Are you alright?"

"Yes, untie me quickly," Yoshima said, trying to manage the anger that was boiling in him. Malakh had gotten the best of him that time, but it would be the last time. The next time he wouldn’t hesitate in killing him.

"Yes, sir!" The officer scrambled over to the General's spot pulling out a knife from his hip and cutting through the ropes. Once the General was freed he stood up sheathing the blade. He helped the General back to his feet through protests.

He didn’t need to be coddled by his subordinates pushing the officer aside as he made his way to the tent's flaps. Yoshima knelt down to the ground hearing the nearby ricochet of bullets from outside. He had been hearing the sounds of the fighting, but only knew a piece of what was happening from Malakh's smug comments. "What's the situation?"

The officer swallowed roughly knowing that he would be the one forced to report on the battle situation. It wasn’t something that he was going to like hearing even if it was necessary. "Several squads have begun attacking us. They have us pinned down in the parking lot. We saw that some of them entered the building, but have been unable to follow them."

"We have superior numbers, what's the problem?" Yoshima looked out at the field to see how the battle was currently fairing. All he saw was his men cowering on the ground like children. They were barely firing back. 'This is what they get for not having a real enemy to fight.' He couldn’t believe how many Seraphim agents had infiltrated his army. It was something that he expected, but he thought that he knew who they were. This wasn’t what he was planning for. All of these men were supposed to be human to prevent this from happening. 'The machines have made their move now…betrayal comes so easy…'

"They caught us off guard and we have many injured or dead from the initial surprise attack." The attack happened suddenly looking like an accident that went wrong as a grenade was let go. It was the initial explosion that took out most of the men that were now dead. In the confusion they had managed to take out even more, not completely bringing the numbers even. Once the men recovered from the shock and regrouped the two sides remained in a standoff with neither side willing to advance.

Yoshima slowly walked crouching to the ground reaching the back lines of the fighting. He pushed some of his men forward looking at them to actually fight and not be cowardly. It seemed to inspire them a little seeing their General alive and on the battlefield. He turned to the officer needing to confirm what Malakh had mentioned. "Did we hear back from the team in Qintech yet?"

"Yes, they also met with resistance, but that seemed to have stopped," the officer said, recalling the communication from the other team. It had been received shortly before the fighting broke out. He had intended to inform General Yoshima of it, but in the confusion he was unable to do anything. "Adam wasn’t located in the underground facility according to reports."

"Then they know something." Yoshima remembered what the officer had told him about machines entering the building. They must went in because things had changed for them. There was a separate group that would be killing the summit. 'Malakh knew this would happen. Did he plan all of this?' He wasn’t sure if he could believe that Malakh was planning so far ahead, but he was a part of Adam. "These enemies outside mean nothing. We must follow those that went inside."

"Yes, sir!" the officer said, saluting quickly. The General was already rushing to the building in advance. Now that they had new orders he looked around gathering up two squads quickly and followed the General under the cover of an invigorated front line of men unleashing their rifles along the cement and metal barricades that the machines hid behind.