Chronocide 0: Snowblind

Hazel took point behind a large tree, flattening herself  against it, and using it as cover to scan the open era beyond on the  treeline. She felt her heart fluttering in her chest. So far, so good.  But who knew what would be next?

She didn’t like the  idea of running into this ‘Panther’ agent one bit. Not that she liked  the idea of running into anyone else either.

Ahead of them, the  woods gave way to a path, lined with an old fence and some looped barbed  wire. Truck tracks, mostly snowed over by the freshly fallen snow, were  present along with what seemed to be boot marks.

From her vantage…it was empty for now. But it was clearly the road leading to the supply bridge.

“There’s been a truck along this route,” she reported to Victor. “Not recently. And a patrol, I think. There’s boot marks.”

“Looks  like we’re on the right track then.” he murmured, peering around the  tree at the snowfall. “Snow’s covering it, looks like the last one was a  bit ago. We should watch out for the next patrol.” 

“Just  what I was thinking,” she agreed. She surveyed the area ahead of them,  looking for what might be their stealthiest approach. The last thing she  wanted to do was get caught with their pants down out in the open.

The  road wasn’t a good idea…but Victor tapped her shoulder “hey. Looks like  there’s a ditch off to the side, for runoff, I think. Maybe we can  hunker down and crouch through there…duck down if line of sight comes  our way?” 

Heron oriented on it, the barely visible  depression in the snow along the edge of the road. A smile came to her  face, and she nodded. “Nice find. That’s probably the best that we’re  gonna get here.”

“We can’t track too far into the surrounding  woods, they’re gonna give way to cliffs soon. So that ditch may be our  best bet.” he agreed with a nod “Ready? We’ll run across.” 

She nodded. “On your mark.”

He  waved his hand as he moved into action. He ran quickly, hunkered down  with his gun clutched in his hand as he made the shortest route he could  across the road. Footprints rested in the snow, but shallowly as he  dashed across, and slid into the ditch, waving for her to follow. 

Heron  followed him, trying to stay as close to his tracks as possible, hoping  to obscure the trail as much as possible. She stayed low as she moved,  her awareness of her surroundings on high alert.

The sound of a  bird cooing in the distance , and the low rumble of some kind of vehicle  in the distance were all that answered her, as the two of them slid  into the ditch and ducked low. It wasn’t high…but it was enough to keep  them hidden from casual view from the road.

She ducked  as low as she could, closing her eyes for a moment and trying to hear  the direction the truck was coming from– and which direction it was  headed.

It seemed like it was getting closer, from the south past the grove of trees. It was a bit far out…but it was approaching.

“It's coming toward us,” she murmured to Viper, as she started to hunker forward through the ditch. “Be ready.”

Viper  nodded slowly, and gripped his pistol tight as he hunkered down into  the snow, shifting so that it partially covered his body. His gun stayed  aimed towards the road as his pale blue eyes squinted against the glare  of snow-blindness. “Ready.” 

She grabbed her own weapon, and did the same, staying low, and quiet. She waited as she heard the vehicle approach.

They  heard it rounding the corner. A low and ominous rumble…a truck,  perhaps? It ground snow below its tires as it approached…it was only  when it rounded the corner that they saw it. A large supply truck’s face  came towards them, it’s lights bright as they cast down upon the quiet  trail.

Soldiers hung off the side of it, keeping watch from a  bench in the back and a hand-hold on either side. Soldiers in black and  red uniforms and berets, with machine guns affixed with flashlights. 

Heron  gestured to it with a subtle nod of her head. Not that she thought  Viper could possibly miss it. If those soldiers saw them, in all  likelihood, they were dead.

Heron couldn’t help but  wonder if her supposed ability would protect her. It was hard to shake  the idea that if she died, that was it. Even if she’d survived twice  now. It was definitely best not to rely on it.

Victor saw them, she saw the line of his mouth turn into a sharp frown as he gripped his gun tighter.

He  kept perfectly still, as Hazel heard voices from the truck “Converge on  the supply depot.” came one, in Uldovian “he’s got to be nearby.” 

Heron  too, was perfectly still. She felt all the small hairs on the back of  her neck stand on end. They were going to do a search. This could be  very, very bad. Her fingers tensed, her body ready to react.

The  flashlight beam from one of the guards on the truck passed over her  head. It illuminated the trees behind her, scanning through them for any  discrepancy. The truck continued its slow roll down the snow covered  hill and past them as the voices grew fainter “Are you sure, sir? I  think that…”

It trailed off into nothing, the flashlight beam hovering only briefly near her before moving on to aim back at the road. 

Heron hardly even let herself breathe a sigh of relief. She didn’t feel relieved just yet.

Viper  hissed out a soft breath as the truck rumbled away. “looks like we got  trouble. There’s a chance we can beat it there…they’re slowed down from  the snow, and we aren’t.” 

She nodded. “We’d better get a move on then, Viper.” She raised her body slightly, ready to go.

Viper  nodded, hopping up into a crouch, and hurrying along the snow. “We’ll  have to divert slightly. Can you check in with command, see if one of  our experts can give us an alternate route? We wanna avoid that truck  while getting ahead of it.” 

“Got it,” she nodded, and touched her comm link. “Come in.”

“Command here, Heron, what’s the update?” Simons’ voice came through clear on the line. 

“There’s  a truck on the road. We’d love to be able to get ahead of it, and we  definitely want to avoid it. Can you help us out with an alternate  route?”

“Well…we have some footage from one of the old spy  planes…” Simon began, before he abruptly was cut off “what’s that?  Understood, sir.”

He cleared his throat “I’m patching you in to  Lionheart’s comm line. She says she has some information for you. One  moment, please.” 

“Understood,” she said, raising her eyebrows. She waited to be patched through.

“This  is Lionheart,” a warm, crisp voice came through on the comm. It  sounded, Heron thought, remarkably like the voice that her mother had  given her AI, but with more depth and humanity, of course. “Viper,  Heron, do you read me?”

Viper’s voice held respect as he answered “I read you, Lionheart.” 

Heron  decided to listen for the moment, unless she was addressed specifically  again. After all, Viper and Lionheart already had a rapport. “I read  you.”

“Good. I gather you’re on a time table, so I’ll be brief. You’re looking for an alternate route to the bridge?”

“Yes  ma’am. We have an enemy transport containing Panther’s unit on route to  the rendezvous site.” he murmured. “We need another way across the  ravine.” 

“There’s an old freight elevator a half click  up,” Lionheart said after a moment. “It may or may not be in working  order. If it isn’t, you can use the lift mechanism as a way to climb it.  Does that suit your needs?”

“It does, boss.” Viper said “thanks. Do you think there’s likely to be a guard detachment around it?”

“Unlikely,  but possible,” she replied. “If there is, it will be small. The  elevator hasn’t been used in years.If you see signs of a detachment  nearby, it will mean the elevator is likely in working order.  Regardless, any resistance should be easy for you to put down.”

“Thanks boss. We won’t letcha down. So it’s half a click straight ahead? We’ll make our way to the new cross point.” 

“I’ll transmit the precise location to the rest of your comm team,” she said. “Unfortunately I’m short on time.But Viper–”

“Yes boss?” Viper asked, his brow furrowing “I’m listening.” 

“Be careful,” she said, fondness honeying her clipped manner. “And Heron, too.”

“Thank you, boss.” Viper said in a softer tone. “We’ll be careful. Over and out.” 

Heron ran her tongue over her teeth as she considered the interaction. The woman’s voice even sounded a little like her own.

Viper  looked over his shoulder at her with a slight grin as his finger left  the comm switch “looks like we found our ticket to the depot before  Panther’s unit. Ready to head out?” 

“Ready,” she nodded, smiling back. “So that was Lionheart.”

He  nodded. “my mentor, yeah. Impressive lady, ain’t she?” he said with a  warm chuckle, before he picked up the pace, hurrying through the snow  dead ahead “...she had a few missions in this area a while back, so I’m  not surprised she knows the nooks and crannies.” 

She hurried along with him, moving swiftly for the snow. “That makes sense. She seems… cool.”

Heron  had been wondering how the woman was familiar with the lay of the land  here, but if she’d been here before that certainly made sense.

Viper  moved quickly and quietly through the snow, making his way off the  narrow ditch they’d been in, and over a small ledge to head straight on  through the woods past where the road turned off.

“Shame you haven’t met her..” He paused for a moment “I’ll be honest. I’m surprised. You look a lot like her, you know?” 

“I’m…  decreasingly surprised to hear that, admittedly,” she said, drawing up  shoulder to shoulder with him. “How much have you heard about me?”

“Not  a lot,” he said in a low voice “You’re some new operator that Soteria  personally recommended. That this mission would be our mutual proving  ground.” 

“That’s true,” she nodded. She paused for a moment. “What kind of clearance do you have?”

“That top secret , huh?” he mused , before glancing at his commlink’s cord briefly. “maybe I better not ask , then.”

He  used his hand to heft himself over a small incline, sliding down the  snowbank into a thicket of trees. “It’s standard operative level. The  hope’s that I’ll be given permission to join Lionheart after this. Boost  my clearance...do what I really wanna do.” 

She nodded,  thinking of her own comm link, and the very real security risk that  telling people she was from the future posed. “I’d love to hear more  about that. And maybe I can tell you more about myself– later.”

“Later.  After the mission sometime.” Viper winked, before righting himself, and  pressing to a tree. “we’re coming to a clearing, though. We should  scope out and see if we can spot this elevator.”

Heron  nodded, and flattened herself against a tree near Viper. She grabbed  her binoculars from her kit, and unfolded them. “Let's give it a look.”

As  she peered through the binoculars, and her eyes adjusted to the solid  expanse of white and grey of the Uldovian mountains, Hazel saw metal  jutting up from the edge of the cliff in the distance. A gate like  structure, with a cable going across the mountain range to a ridge on  the other side. 

She re-focused her binoculars on that gate like area in the distance to get a closer look. She had a hunch it was their target.

It  was unguarded, at least as far as she could see. An old, rusty  structure that showed signs of disuse. Attached on this end of the  ravine was a large freight elevator, hanging at a lopsided angle from  where it sat in the docking bay.

“What do you got for me, Heron?” Viper asked.

“I can see it,” she responded. “No movement. It looks unguarded. It also looks like we’re going to have to climb.”

“I’m  guessing the elevator’s a deathtrap then?” Viper nodded “got it, hope  you got a good grip, Heron… or we’re gonna have to see if you can fly  like your namesake.” 

---

It took until halfway  across the wires over the ravine for the sound of groaning and creaking  from the base of the elevator to go from uncomfortable to legitimately  concerning. Victor grimaced, hurrying as best he could hand over hand to  try to get to the other side. It had felt so stable until they’d felt a  sudden dip as a few old bolts and rivets cracked back behind them at  the docking bay. 

Heron’s heart pounded in her chest as  she held tightly to the creaking infrastructure. She usually liked  heights. She’d jumped out of a plane not hours ago. But this. This was  less than ideal. She tried to think weightless thoughts as she edged  across.

“Not our best idea”’ she mumbled aloud, trying to ignore the yawning void below her.

“You can say that again.” Viper hissed through his teeth, “but it’s the only way across without running into that truck.”

He kept his eyes straight ahead, refusing to look down along with her. “We’re almost there…it should hold, just a lil’ longer…” 

Heron felt something give in the framework past the way they had come. Her whole body jolted. “No.”

Viper  hissed, and gripped the wire. Instinctively…he knew just what she must  have meant. “Hang on tight! If it snaps, don’t let your grip slip, just  hold the hell on and brace for impact!!” 

“Keep moving,”  she breathed. It was unclear even to her whether she meant him, or  herself. She tried, delicately to edge along across. One hand, then  another. Careful. Careful…

There was a sudden rending of metal  behind them. The groan and screech of a support beam finally caving in  under the weight and the clank of falling metal. It all came the split  second before the wire snapped at the base. The tight tension of the  wire gave out below her hand, and suddenly went slack as gravity  asserted itself upon her. 

Heron went flying. The pit  dropped out from her stomach as gravity took hold of her. She held on as  tight as she could to the piece she was gripping, instinct alone acting  as her mind went blank.

Darkness gave way to pinpricks of light and a rushing sensation. 

A  sharp yank backwards and she suddenly felt sensation again. A subtle  chill, the feeling of her suit’s pressure against her skin, the howl of  the wind…and the feeling of the wire digging into her fingers as she  started to haul herself up onto it. Viper was already a few feet ahead. 

She could make it. She had to. All she had to do was climb, right? One hand, then another. One hand then another. 

She had liked sky diving a lot more than this. She felt cold.

Viper began climbing across the wire once more, with the familiar pops and crackles from the mooring echoing behind them.

Hazel’s  comm beeped. “you don’t have to hit the switch to answer this.” came  Simon’s breathless voice “and this is transmitting only to you…but  Hazel. We saw you blip out on the radar, right after shouting. Or…or at  least I heard it, and nobody else has acknowledged anything.” 

“Simon,” she responded breathlessly. “I….”

“You died again, didn’t you? The others don’t know…what happened down there?”

The wire creaked again in her hand.

“I fell,” she said in a low voice. “The wire snapped. I think. I didn’t even realize I had– reset– until you messaged me.”

She fell. She had died falling. The wires were intact. For now.

“I’m worried we’re going to fall again.”

A terrifying thought occurred to her. What if she just kept falling and falling with no way to fix the situation?

“Alright.” Simon said , the quiver of fear in his voice setting into a determination. “how far across are you, Hazel?” 

Heron took a breath, and dared to gauge out the distance, trying not to look too much downward.

She was back…back near the mooring. Viper was about 6 feet ahead, and she was only a few feet across the wire. 

“Not very far across,” she said in a low voice. “Should I go back?”

“I’m  not sure.” Simon admitted “You can try shoring up the supports with  some of the leftover supplies, bracing it on a tree or something…or if  you’d like, it may be because the two of you were too close together  while climbing. Like, too much weight on the wire at once?”

“Good point,” she said, breathlessly. “I’m going to– I’m going to wait and see if Viper will make it across.”

And if he doesn’t– if it still breaks? Then what? What if he dies? He doesn’t have any time magic to bring him back.

“Good  plan..how exactly did it break? If it’s just a matter of weight, he  should make it across in time for you to go across too..?” Simon mused  “I think it’ll be okay. I think.” 

“I think it was the weight,” she breathed. “I think we put too much weight on it at once.”

Her eyes stayed locked on Viper.

Her  infiltration partner climbed quickly, one hand over the other as he  passed over the ravine. The cord groaned, creaked…but this time there  was less sound of bending metal and straining rivets. As he passed the  halfway point, he vanished into the blowing wind and snow, shielded from  the naked eye. 

“Simon, can you patch me into Viper’s comm without needing to touch?”

“Transferring you over, Hazel.” Simon chirped “brace for contact.”

There was a hiss of static, and she could hear Viper’s breath puffing softly in the comms as he worked his way across. 

“Viper,  it’s Heron. Let me know when you get across. I don’t think it’s in good  enough shape to hold both of us at once.” She tried to keep the slight  quiver out of her voice.

“Damn.” She heard him say, his voice  gruff from the effort of climbing the wire. “good thing you noticed that  before we both tried to cross. Got it. I’ll let you know when I touch  down. I’m almost there.”

There was another concerning creak from the wire, but still, it held. 

Heron winced internally at the creak. “Understood. Waiting for your signal.”

A  few agonizing moments of metallic groans and echoes through the  otherwise silent Uldovian mountain range…and she heard the ping on her  comms “Touched down on the other side. No guards, far as I can see, but  I’m taking cover behind an old shipping crate just in case.” 

“Alright. I’m going to make my way across,” she breathed. She started carefully moving. “Stay in cover until I get there.”

The  pressure of the wire against her hands was instant as she grabbed hold  and began crawling across. Handhold by handhold, she made her way across  the wire accompanied by the quiet groans and creaks of the mooring  behind her. 

She tried to move quickly, but not sharply,  easing her weight across as smoothly as possible. She took deep  breaths, trying to find her center and her calm.

There was  another popping sound from behind her when she reached halfway across,  and the wire shook, rattled in her grip, but stayed strong. The wind  whipped at her face as she worked to find her center, to climb as  carefully as she could.

VIper made it across, so could she. 

Her heart thudded in her chest at the sound. But, she took a breath and pressed on.

She  didn’t even remember dying the first time. Just falling. If it happened  again, it happened again, and she’d try it a third time. She told  herself that she could make it. She told herself it would be alright.

Hand over hand. Deep breaths, edging her body across.

It  was an agonizing climb. It felt like ages of hand over hand crawling on  a wire that shook more with every foot she climbed. But progress was  made. Progress to where she could see the other side and Victor crouched  behind a shipping crate in the driving snow. It was when she was right  at the edge, about to swing her feet to to solid ground that things went  wrong, however.

The snapping of the wire and mooring finally  giving out on the other side suddenly made her solid grip falter, the  wire going limp as gravity once more asserted itself only a few scant  feet from the edge of the landing platform.

Not when she was this far! No!

Heron swung all her weight in a desperate attempt to get within clawing distance of the cliff.

She swung, even as she started to drop. She came within a foot of the cliff when a hand shot out and grabbed her forearm firmly.

Viper,  gritting his teeth and looping an arm around the mooring, helped tug  her forward and onto solid ground. “Gotcha, partner.” 

“Viper!”  she breathed, as he pulled her up. She clawed her way onto the ground,  and breathed hard. “Didn’t I tell you to stay in cover?”

The relief that flooded her was immense as she stared up at him. She was sure he coil see it in her eyes.

He  gave her a half smile, her eyes meeting his as he slapped her on the  back. “whole lotta good cover’d do me on this op without someone to  watch my back. I wasn’t about to let you fall, Heron.” 

She thumped her shoulder against his, her heart rate slowly returning to normal. “Thanks, partner. Thanks, a lot.”

He held a tight grip on her, letting her take a breather “no problem. Anytime, eh? Know you’ll do the same for me.”

Laughing ruefully, he glanced over his shoulders. “Looks like we’ll be taking the long way back, though.” 

She found herself laughing with him. “I guess we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it, huh?”

The two of them laughed in the howling wind , their voices cut off from whatever lay ahead in a little bubble of just them.

“Yeah,  but I dunno if I can take the suspense.” He joked back, before shaking  his head, “if Lionheart’s directions are correct…just a little to the  north from here’s our old supply depot.”

She took one more breath, and righted herself. She nodded to him. “Let’s get moving then, shall we?”

Heron still felt shaky, but it was fading already. Viper had been there. It felt good.

She touched her comms. “Simon, we’re past the ravine.”

“Good to hear it, Heron.” Simon replied breathlessly “I’m glad it went well. Makes me wish we had cameras for your suits.”

“Cameras in the suits?” Viper laughed. “like a video camera? Wouldn’t that be a bit cumbersome?” 

“Depends on how big the camera was,” Heron chuckled. “Maybe someday they’ll be able to make one as small as your pinkie.”

“Hope  I live to see that day.” Viper smirked, before waving for her to follow  as he dropped into a crouch and hurried through the thickening snow.  “Pinhole cameras, I’ve used those. But a live video feed the size of  your pinkie?…hot damn.”

Simon giggled, “The future is a mysterious thing.”

There was a hiss on the commlink.

“Funny  you should mention that.” Came Dr. Kovalenko’s clipped voice. “We have a  camera like that in the works. Something to allow the support team to  see what you see in real time. It’s been in development in R&D for a  few years now.” 

“You know, I’m not in the least surprised to hear that, m-Doctor Kovalenko.”

“It’s  a shame this mission came now. We’re nearly finished with testing the  damned thing.” the doctor mused over the comms. “It would have made a  good field test. Alas.” 

“Maybe next time, Doc,” she chuckled.”This one would be mostly white screen anyway.”

“Too  true. I don’t miss those mountains, I’ll say that much.” The doctor  said dryly. “Keep up the good work. If you have any questions about  technology or scientific processes, let me know.” 

“Understood,  thank you for your help, doctor,” she said. It was so strange to talk to  her like this, at a remove. Her mother, younger than she was when she’d  had her. Not knowing she was talking to her own daughter.

“Mmm. Of course, Heron.” With that, the line cut off.