NOTE 15

“Everyone has gathered,” said Alanka.

“Just a minute, I’m almost done.”

Right after they arrived an helped to defend what was left of the military post in the ruins of Cilegon, they immediately set up an emergency post. They also helped check and rescue any casualties, be it military personnel or civilian. And the girl in front of her now was one of the keys to keep people alive. Like her namesake, Cahya, she became a light of hope for those who continued to cling to life.

“Have we been able to send messages to the academy or other military bases?” asked Cahya as she covered her patient’s wound with a bandage.

“Not yet. Someone or something keeps interfering.”

She sighed. Once she finished bandaging, she turned to face other paramedics in the tent. “I’m sorry, I have to leave you while there are still many being treated.”

“Just come back soon, okay?”

“I will.” Cahya went over to Alanka immediately. “Sorry for keeping you waiting.”

“No problem.”

The two left the tent soon after. Not only was the tent filled with the wounded, but also the surroundings. At a glance, there were about twenty people inside the tent, not counting the three paramedics who had been working hard even before they arrived. And the dozens of other people queuing or waiting for the paramedics to check on them. Looking all that, she could easily tell there were hundreds of people there, and she took one of the people who could ease their burden.

“You can stay here if you want,” said Alanka.

Cahya chuckled. “I will but after returning from the meeting.”

“Is that so?”

“And I hope you don’t use that line when you visit or pick me up.”

“Why?”

“Because they are tired.” Cahya glanced at the paramedic tent that kept getting farther away. “You can see the look in their eyes. They can stay awake because of their desire to save as many as possible. They can stay awake because they are focused on that goal. And they’re going to get very irritated when they find out someone came to get me but suddenly changed their mind.”

“Is that so.” Alanka fell silent in contemplation. “From some reason what you just said felt more like an act of desperation.”

“One could call it that.”

The two turned their heads towards the ruins of Cilegon. The flats that once filled the city have merged with the surrounding land. As for the steel mills, the towering red and white chimneys no longer puff smoke, leaving only stones that are no longer as bright as they once were. Under normal circumstances, she might have liked the silence that those ruins had brought upon.

“Who would have thought that behind the silence of the ruins lies a factory of mass murder,” said Cahya reminiscently.

Alanka tried to read the expression on Cahya’s face, but found nothing. No anger, no sadness, no disappointment, nothing. Just a blank expression, as if he emptiness of the ruins had seized it. Before long, they arrived at their destination.

“I’m back with Cahya,” said Alanka as she walked in.

“Cahya, reporting in!”

The tent was filled with all sorts of equipment, including tables and radars that took up most of the tent space. On the table was a machine that emitted a holographic light showing the map of the ruins in 3D. Some places have been marked with crosses, circles, and handwritten notes based on speculation from the available data.

“At ease. And have a seat,” replied Dianka. She cast her eyes around everyone, making sure that no one was left out. “Since everyone already gathered, let’s get started.”

The map moved around on its axis when Dianka moved her hand.

“Before we discuss what we’re going to do, I’d like us to know our current situation. Starting with Bahyu then Kerta, Cakra, and Cahya.”

Bahyu Pramuwongso. If she remembers correctly, after things calmed down, Dianka asked him to set up communications and try to get information from the factory network.

“We have two good news and bad news,” said Bahyu as he moved his hand to set up display on the holographic device. “The first good news is that I managed to establish chain of communication with the academy. It seems whoever tried to disrupt the connection only amplified the disruption if we tried to contact the public network or military.”

“What was the message you receive?”

“The message is related to the second good news, but first they tell us to stay vigilant and help the victims as much as we can. And the good news is that they will also mobilising reinforcements. It is estimated that they will arrive in less than two hours.”

Alanka could feel the relief from her classmates, but not Dianka.

“And the bad news?”

“We have one hour and half before the next attack.”

And that is where their relief vanished. As quickly as it came, it was gone the moment they heard about it, leaving a void in their minds.

Bahyu continued. “After successfully hacking into the factory network, I found evidence that the secret factory was currently constructing new automatons as we speak. At that time, the total that had been completed was still around seventy out of hundred.”

“Did you try to stop the process?” asked Kertanegara.

“I tried, but was again prevented and even locked me out of the network.”

“Can you reconnect?”

“I’m trying but so far no.”

“Alright. Is there anything else?” said Dianka.

“No, there isn’t.”

“Right. Before anyone asks, I’d like the report continue first.” Without waiting for respond, Dianka looked towards Kertanegara. “Please, continue.”

“I will report on the remaining military personnel,” reported Kertanegara. “More or less at the moment, this northern point only has less than a platoon that ready to deployed. I also checked the southern point. They are not in as bad a condition as this point but they will be in short if they need to defend the area between the two points.”

“I see.” Dianka looked at the map, frowned. “Thank you, Kerta. Next!”

“We have enough supplies!” exclaimed Cakra. “Food, bullets, bandages, medicine, everything! Well, except for the water.”

“What’s wrong with the water?”

“Most of them have been destroyed or contaminated with oil from the previous battle. I tried to find a water source but it think the distance travelled is too great to justify going back and forth for it, especially right now.”

“What about the supplies we brought.”

“Not much. Especially if you want the patients’ wounds to be cleaned.”

“I can ask the southern point to share their water if necessary,” said Kertanegara.

“Please.”

“Leave it to me.”

“Next… Cahya.”

“Paramedics don’t have adequate equipment to deal with more serious injuries,” said Cahya. “We try to fix them as best as we can, but it’s likely that these severely injured people will have to live the rest of their lives with prosthetic implants. Besides that we had enough to deal with everything else.”

“Cahya,” called Dianka.

“Yes?”

“…What about the others?”

Cahya was silent for a moment, watching the entire room. “Currently there are approximately one hundred and fifty people who have been injured, three-fourths of them are seriously injured. As for the casualties, it’s approximately double that number and probably will continue to grow as we still tried to search for other survivors.”

Alanka could see the discomfort on the faces of her classmates. For a while no one spoke. Cahya had returned to her seat without waiting for orders. She may have been reluctant to say so, but everybody knew the total death toll consisted mostly of civilians who far outnumbered the military personnel. But now was not the time for them to brood. Right now the had to survive. They have to achieve a triumph.

“I have an idea,” said Karangka.