Story 5: To overthrow the Utopia (Part 5)

esercito sconfitto
Posts: 7096
Joined: Tue Jan 12, 2016 12:06 pm

Re: To overthrow the Utopia (Part 5) by Rufusluciusivan

Post by esercito sconfitto »

many thanks Rufusluciusivan. I just hope there will be no further missing USB's :lol:

as for the 'defeated army' scenario's...feel free to forget some hapless recruits, robbed of boots and some of them in undies, tied up to a tree, waiting in vain to be freed by the victorious revolutionary army

you know, the aftermath of a successful uprising is a confused moment. These triumphant Rebels can't remember of all of them , there are all the celebrations :P

PS why don't you try a 'casting call' for some characters?
rufusluciusivan
Posts: 1224
Joined: Thu Feb 02, 2017 5:08 pm

Re: To overthrow the Utopia (Part 5) by Rufusluciusivan

Post by rufusluciusivan »

Why don't you try a 'casting call' for some characters? Because I have no idea who to cast. :D

Anyway, now it's time for the final part.

Epilogue:

The ambulance was driving across the streets of Wheat Junction.

“Maxie! Are we there yet?” the woman on the passenger seat asked.

“Almost.” the driver answered. “Are your girls waiting at the meeting point?”

“They are already there, with the van.”

“Perfect. Although, I have to admit, we were lucky that Kjelle's and Selena's injuries are minor. Well, at least minor enough to allow us to transport them to my contact. He will patch them up...”

“You heard that?” the woman on the passenger seat yelled to the persons in the back of the ambulance. “We will soon change vehicles!”

She was answered by several sounds of approval, as well as two muffled cries.

Reka, the woman seated on the passenger street, made a grimace of satisfaction. “We're back on track, and I'm loving that!” she commented, with a grim and determined tone.

**************

Coral and Helen were waiting outside of the van. They had done a good job. The vehicle they chose was the size of a minibus.

Reka exited the ambulance first, followed by Max. While the accountant had kept his civilian clothes, Reka was now dressed in the green short sleeve uniform shirt, green pants and black shoes of a paramedic. She went to open the backdoor of the ambulance.

Lucina, clad in the same green uniform, was the first to exit. She helped Katarina get out. The latter had bruises all over the body and the face, as well as several bandages, but she wasn't complaining. She could have been crushed by the panicked crowd. She got lucky. Then, the two women helped Kjelle, who was wounded in the side and the left thigh, and Selena, who was wounded in the shoulder. They supported them, helping them walk to the van.

Reka granted one last look to the two women who were still inside the ambulance, lying on the floor. The true paramedics who had been driving Kjelle and Selena to the hospital. Both were bound and gagged with medical tape and zip ties. Both were also clad in nothing but their underwear: plain functional grey undershirt and briefs.

“Please know that I am grateful for the first aid you gave to my teammates." Reka said to the two frightened women. "So we're leaving you in a busy street. Just bang for help and you'll be rescued in no time. Not all the women I mugged were as lucky...”

She didn't wait for the fearful muffled replies. They were all mewling the same anyway when in that position... Reka closed the door.

“Ready to go?” she asked the others.

“Amara is already behind the wheel.” Max answered. “We're waiting for you.”

“I'm coming.”

“I received a phonecall from my contact in the local police. Karin's been found in some alleyway. I told my contact that he would find a little surprise, as in an envelope of cash, in his mailbox if he sent her where we can pick her up.”

“Alright. Let's go before Zoë notices that I left the two bimbos calling themselves her bodyguards tied up in a trunk again.”

**************

While there were two major cities in their Province, Border Hills and Stormfist, a good chunk of the inhabitants of Ares were spread across the countryside grouped into numerous small villages. Macha came from one of these villages, a group of grey stone houses lost in the middle of huge vineyards.

Hana wasn't feeling very comfortable. She was used to live in cities, wether it was the industrial towns of Smog or the provincial capital city Stormfist. She was used to live in places where you could be invisible among the crowd, not in small villages where every stranger was instantly spotted and carefully watched from behind the windows.

The moment they set a foot in the village, several pairs of eyes immediately spotted them. Then, some kids recognized Macha and the village livened up suddenly.

Five minutes after their arrival, half of the village was already there to greet them. Macha was surrounded by a swarm of redheads, that Hana assumed were more or less distant relatives. Ares families were often huge and they tended to stay together in the same village.

Macha was talking with four girls that were her spitting image. The oldest was probably fifteen years old and the youngest couldn't be older than six. Little sisters. Hana understood. There was also a chubby woman with greying hair, Macha's mother, and a tall man with bushy sideburns, her father. The guy was one of the only adult men in the crowd, most of the other men were either children or old men. But Hana understood why the man hadn't been recruited by the army when she saw that he had lost his left hand.

Macha took her arm. “Come now! I'm going to introduce you to everyone.” She briefly paused, looking at the huge number of people circled around them, and scratched the back of her head. “It might take a while though...”

“And about the war and the Rebellion?” Hana asked.

“A lot of things changed while we were on our way here. My family will fill us in. But first, I want them to meet you.”

**************

Some people will say that I'm a tyrant or a blood-thirsty warmonger. But am I truly worst than the leaders of all these petty principalities, always waging war against each other? Ultimately, there is only one difference between them and I.

I won.

The unification of all principalities under Olympian rule will bring a lot of good. Peace. Unity. Prosperity. Modernity.

We are the Chosen People. It is our destiny. I trust my descendants to carry on my task. I know they will succeed.

They will create my Utopia.

Constantin Basileus.


**************

Arcadius Zeno of the Zeno Faction, direct descendant of one of Olympus' founders, closed the book. The Chronicles of the Life of Constantin Basileus was the only written document left to them by the glorious founder of their Nation, who unified the principalities under Olympian rule two-hundred-and-seventy-five years ago.

The Rebels were now waging war on Olympus' soil. They were winning. Arcadius didn't understand. He was born in a world ruled by Olympus. He grew up hearing the tales of the Twelve Factions, and how Olympus' government was bringing enlightment to the other Provinces. This was his world. The normal world.

Where did we go wrong? Could we have misinterpreted the teachings of Basileus?

Ultimately, it didn't matter.

It is time to give the Rebels what they want...

The others had chosen the poison. But not Arcadius.

The wind was howling on top of the Government Palace. Arcadius looked at the streets below. Very far down.

A fatal fall.

Arcadius jumped.

**************

The war was over.

After the Rebellion took control of Korê and Smog, Olympus lost its last supports.

The international comunity definitively turned its back on them, openly supporting the Rebellion.

Okéanis proclaimed its independence, taking advantage of the fact that all the Olympian soldiers had been sent to the front, only leaving Okéani soldiers behind to protect the Province. Apparently, the officials of South Window had held secret negociations with foreign nations as soon as the mass uprising began. Their declaration of independence received the blessing of the international community, especially since some countries wanted to make sure that the new Utopia wouldn't become too powerful. Nobody was surprised by this turn of event though. The Okéanis had always had the reputation of being pragmatic. Their move had a double advantage: they would free themselves from Olympus' rule and remove the threat of an invasion by the Rebel army, as the international community would never have allowed them to invade a free country.

Hera started to distance itself from Olympus and even some parts of Ares were growing restless, notably due to the actions of several families led by the Etaine family.

However, the final blow wasn't dealt by the Rebellion or even by Okéanis, but by Olympus itself.

When the leaders of Olympus understood that they didn't stand a chance, they chose to escape the humiliation of a trial and to die by their own terms. They gathered together, had a nice meal... and drank a short-acting poison afterwards. Arcadius Zeno was found dead in the middle of the street. He had jumped from the top of the Government Palace.

Left without a proper leadership, the remaining officials started to panic. Soon, they turned on each other. A lot of people got thrown under the bus by their former political allies. Several prestigious families were wiped out, others fled the country. The army tried to take control of the situation, but its high-ranked officers were all at the front, busy fighting the war. By the time the Rebel army arrived at the city of Olympus, the Government had already crumbled by itself. The surviving ruling families were all too eager to surrender the country in exchange of their lives.

The Rebellion had won. Its leader, the Number One, became Utopia's temporary leader, in charge of restructuring the country and organizing free elections. Under the supervision of the international community, of course. Cérès and Morgan Shark along with other leaders of the Rebellion entered his government. Together, they proclaimed the birth of the Utopian Federation.

**************

Klenia, Mikani, Shayna and Zia were grouped together to read the latest newspaper Mikani had just brought them.

Aster was sitting next to them. Learning about the deaths of Olympus' leadership didn't bring her any satisfaction.

Yes, the people against whom she fought all her life were gone. Ultimately however, they escaped punishment. They denied their victims the catharsis of a trial.

Aster couldn't find in herself the strength to be angry, or even disappointed. Aaria's death was more important.

“I must be dreaming!” Klenia commented. “Do you see who's posing in this picture along with our new government and its 'allies' from Olympus, just in the left corner? Zoë Eudokia!”

House Eudokia was actually the big winner of the power struggle that happened among Olympus' leadership during the last days of the war. Under the direction of Irene Eudokia, widow of the late Heraclius Eudokia, they came out on top of the inner fightings. Irene was quick to distance herself from the crimes of her late husband and negociated the ceasefire with the Rebellion, as well as the terms of Olympus' official surrender. The international community liked the idea of a legal transfer of power, and decided that it would be good to keep a few Olympians around to help reorganize the country.

Therefore, the Eudokias were now the only Olympian ruling family who still held a semblance of power in the new Utopian Federation.

“What is she doing here?! She tried to kill us!” Klenia added.

“I guess that Cérès thought that this detail was meaningless compared to the promise of a quick peace, and a legal transfer of power to look good in front of the international community.” Zia commented.

“More like she hadn't forgotten that we let Hana and Macha go...” Mikani added.

“Also, you do realize that Zoë isn't the head of House Eudokia. She's not even that influential among her family. She's actually the youngest child.” Zia concluded.

“What?”

"Why do you think she had the time to chase after us?" Mikania asked.

“See the two twins, the bearded men next to her? They are her older brothers." Zia said. "And the woman next to Cérès and Irene, the one who's well-endowed? That's Theophano, Irene's eldest child.”

“So you mean that Zoë's actually the runt of the litter?” Klenia asked.

“Pretty much.”

Klenia couldn't help but laugh.

“Be serious!” Shayna playfully scolded her. “She probably hasn't forgotten about you. And since she's still around, she could be a threat.”

“A possibility, but very unlikely.”

Aster continued to listen to them playfully argue with each other. Right here, right now, she didn't care about Zoë Eudokia or Cérès' political manoeuvres. She was simply happy to be with her friends.

**************

Thorn joined their group a little while later. He had some fresh news for them.

“Hieron called me. Zia's conscript friends were all released, among the other conscripts that had been taken as prisoners of war. They're on their way back to their home.”

The others cheered.

“Well, that's the first good news today...” Aster commented.

“Also, Emery has left the hospital. Her thigh sustained serious injuries. She limps now. Hieron says that she will never be able to fight again.”

The others turned toward Aster, waiting for her reaction.

She sighed. “And yet this doesn't make me happy...”

Thorn nodded. “I know. But I thought you would have liked to know anyway...”

“You're right. For better or for worse, she did play a huge part in my life. Say hi to Hieron from me.”

"I will."

**************

Emery was looking at the picture. A younger version of herself was looking back, standing in the middle of a group of persons wearing dark clothes. The other special combattants of her class. With the exception of her, all the people on this picture had their faces scribbled with red ink.

It was some sort of tradition. There was one picture taken of each class, and this picture was given to the best graduate of the year. It was their task to scribble the faces of the fallen, to keep track of the deaths. Supposedly, them being the best meant they would outlive all the others. It was stupid, as traditions tended to be. But the chosen one wasn't supposed to take the picture with them on a mission either...

Emery had been chosen by her peers. A wise choice, as she did outlive all her companions. And after each death, she cared less and less. This was probably the biggest key to be a successful assassin. Not anger, not hatred, not skills. Indifference. Especially indifference towards life.

With a red pen, Emery scribbled her own face. A diminished special combattant was as good as dead... And, therefore, the last special combattant of her year faded into oblivion.

“I knew they gave the picture of that year's promotion to you...” Hieron commented from behind her.

She didn't hear him enter the room. For a man of his build, he knew how to be discreet when he wanted. He hadn't been one of her instructors for nothing...

“Well, I was the best of my year.” she retorted.

Hieron sighed.

“You know, sometimes I wonder what you would have become if you didn't train to become a special combattant...”

“A rhetorical question. And a stupid one at that. I didn't want to become something else. I have no regret. Except maybe not having broken Klenia's jaw when she was pestering me.”

Hieron shook his head, seemed about to make a comment, then decided otherwise.

“Come outside. Cérès wants us to see something.”

**************

Emery looked at the column of women slowly walking in line.

The women were at least thirty. They were wearing the standard combat uniforms of the Olympian army: khaki camouflage jackets and pants. They had been blindfolded and their hands were zip-tied behind their backs. They also had been roped into a long coffle at the neck. A few Rebels were leading them, making them walk in the main street of the small town they were currently going through.

“They are part of the last bastion of resistance in northern Olympus...” Hieron explains

A few regions of the Province of Olympus refused to surrender when the Olympian Government officially announced a ceasefire. With the help of the local civilians, the batallions stationed in northern Olympus continued the fight, using the hills of this part of the country to their advantage.

Until today...

“What is the meaning of this parade?” Emery asked.

“Cérès thinks it's a good idea to teach them a lesson. Both to the soldiers and to the civilians... A way to show them who's the boss. She said that it would be more effective to do it with the women... I guess if we go looking in the nearby hills, we will find groups of soldiers left gagged and bound to some trees in their undies. Cérès will probably let them in their predicament all the night, the time for them to learn their lesson...”

Emery shrugged, as the column of prisoner slowly passed in front of her. She had already lost interest.

“Is that it?” she asked.

“Cérès wants you to become an instructor.” Hieron answered.

Emery raised an eyebrow.

“You seem surprised...” Hieron commented.

“I thought that she was going to have me put down. That's what they do to people like me in peace time, when we become... embarassing to keep around.”

"Well, this is your lucky day."

Emery tapped her bad leg and let out a bitter chuckle. "Yes... Lucky..."

**************

“The Okéanis had always been full of themselves. Now, they are going to become unbearable.” Reka commented.

“They have good reasons to be proud of their latest move though.” Max answered. “They avoided an invasion, they have the protection of the international community, and their own military is almost intact. And, cherry on the cake, most of the remaining Olympian war fleet was stationed in their ports and, therefore, pledged allegiance to them. The Province of Artemise also joined their new 'Free Nation'. They even accept many refugees, as long as they possess abilities their government deems useful. They are recovering plenty of scientists, officers, administrators, and engineers.”

“Well, too bad for us, we're not among those welcomed guest...” Reka dryly retorted.

“Indeed, as wanted criminals, they would happily turn us in to the Rebels. Or, should I say, to the Government of the Utopian Federation.”

“Well, I don't intend to give them the occasion.”

Reka tapped the metallic bodywork of the white bus behind her.

“And this baby will allow us to cover our tracks the time we reach South Window.”

“Let's just hope you won't have to actually use your musical instruments...” Max commented.

“Your sarcasm flies over my head.”

Then Reka climbed abord the bus. Amara, Coral, Helen, Katarina, Karin, Lucina, Kjelle, and Selena were already seated inside. Reka and her team were all wearing the same clothes. Black shoes, black pantyhoses, black skirts, and black shirts. The dress code of Okéanis' orchestra musicians.

The true musicians (and real owners of the clothes) had been crammed together in the van Reka's team used to leave Korê before the end of the war. The vehicle was currently hidden in the vegetation. If a walker were passing by, they would hear muffled moans and see the van slightly rocking back and forth, as if people were struggling against something. However, as it wasn't a busy road, hours would pass before someone would come across Reka's victims.

The twelve musicians were women who shared the typical features of the people from Okéanis: tanned skin, eyes of various shades of green or blue, and hair of various shades of brown. They were on their way to a concert when their bus was stopped and ambushed by Reka's team. Since they weren't fighters, they stood no chance in spite of their superior number and their resistance was short-lived. Stripping the musicians was easy, as well as a good way to let off some steam. Reka insisted to strip all of them, to be sure that all the girls of her team would find the right size.

Between all the captured woman, there was a big diversity of underwear. Some plain –cotton undershirts or bras and boyshorts of various colours–; some more risqué with for instance a red thong and a matching plunge bra, or pink frilly panties with an almost see-through pink bustier. A bold girl was even actually topless under her shirt.

Once stripped of all their clothes save for the undergarments and socks, the musicians were tied up and gagged. Reka had brought brown nylon ropes and silver duct tape for that. Scarves were used as blindfolds. Once secured, the unfortunate clothes donors were carried to Reka's van and stashed inside. The only woman 'lucky' enough to be allowed to keep her clothes was the driver, as Max was supposed to play the part of the bus driver. And, in his own words, him stripping her would have been obscene. However, she wasn't lucky enough to be left free. She was bound, gagged, and blindfolded as thoroughly as the others.

Max started the engine and, soon, they left the van full of captives behind them.

“Next stop, South Window.” he announced.

Max still had contacts in this town. Once there, they could hide and ponder their options. Flee the country, hide in the new Free Nation of Okéanis, return to Naïad or try to get their revenge. Reka didn't know yet. Only time would tell.

**************

Zia had left.

When she heard that the conscripts captured by the Rebellion had been set free, the former conscipt decided that it was time for her to leave as well. She was missing her family and wanted to reassure them. The journey back would take some time. She was from Shield, albeit from the plains rather than from the mountainside like Sigyn.

It happened quickly. She said her good byes to her new friends, then left the remaining members of Aster's team.

Their little group decided to go enjoy the sunset from the terrace of their building. It was a warm evening.

Aster, Klenia, Mikani, and Shayna all remained quiet for a while, simply enjoying each other's company.

Then Klenia asked the question that was on everybody's mind.

“So... What do you intend to do now that the war is over?”

“I will open another flower shop.” Aster answered without hesitation. “Only this time, it won't be a front. Thorn will help me. He has contacts.”

“I don't know.” Mikani answered. “The war may be over, but the new Utopian Federation will need to keep an eye on the Free Nation of Okéanis. I might stick around to give a hand.” She turned toward Aster. “I could squat your shop from time to time...”

“There'll always be a couch waiting for you.” the latter answered. “And I might need a laborer for the thankless tasks...” she joked.

“I take notes...” Mikani chuckled. “What about you?” she then asked Klenia and Shayna. “Do you intend to go on a honeymoon?”

Shayna blushed a little. “Not exactly...”

“We'll try to find more informations about the whereabouts of her sister.” Klenia explained. “The Callianass Cartel has been dismantled, but a lot of its members are still free. We know that they shipped Venia to a foreign nation, but we don't know which. We'll go back to East Harbour. We'll even go to South Window and Crescent if we have to. But we'll find where she was sent. Then, we will go there, and we will bring her back.”

“So you're not going to stay here for long, and you might be gone for a while...” Aster understood.

Embarassed, Klenia scratched the back of her neck. “Yes...” she admitted.

“Well, no matter what happen, you will always be welcome in my house.” Aster answered.

Klenia and Shayna smiled. “Thank you...”

“In a way, this is some kind of honeymoon...” Mikani insisted. She was smiling, happy to have found a way to embarrass her two friends.

“Mikani! Come on!”

“Well, I've always said that Klenia would only fall for a woman who'd mug and strip her first...” Aster added, joining in the fun.

“Aster!” Shayna exclaimed, her cheeks red because of the embarrassment.

“But isn't it the case? It must have been a strange feeling, to switch places with your victims for once. Perhaps that, secretly, you'd like to reenact the scenario with her...” Mikani added.

“Aster! Tell her to stop!” Klenia said.

“What can I say... You had a bad influence on her.” Aster concluded.

Klenia was left speechless for a moment, then she laughed.

“You got me there...”

The others started to laugh as well.

Life really does go on... Aster thought. Even without you... Aaria... Dimitri... I hope that, wherever you are, you can watch this. At least it wasn't in vain. We've won.

THE END




**************

Author's note: Well, this is finally over. When I started the first part of this project in July, I didn't think that it would take me half a year to finish it. But I think it was worth it. The goal was to write a story in which the Uniform Steals would play a huge part, but also where there would be an underlying plot. I hope that I have succeded. At least, I'm happy to have been able to finish the story! Again, a huge thanks to all the people who made the effort to read my stories until the end. If you never commented before and want to, it's the right opportunity. I would be curious to hear your thoughts about the whole series... ;)

I wanted to especially thank two people for their constant support and kind words: Esercito Sconfitto and Tirepanted. I'll admit that I enjoyed reading and answering their comments just as much as I enjoyed writing the story, perhaps even more! ;) So a huge thanks to you two!
Last edited by rufusluciusivan on Thu Feb 21, 2019 9:04 pm, edited 3 times in total.
esercito sconfitto
Posts: 7096
Joined: Tue Jan 12, 2016 12:06 pm

Re: To overthrow the Utopia (Part 5) by Rufusluciusivan

Post by esercito sconfitto »

Mr Rufusluciusivan, in our line of work, huge thanks are rare and precious, therefore many thanks ;)

I appreciated greatly the 'defeated army' last scenes...and something else too

if I had the bucks, and if I was mad, I would collect model cars, with all the scale figures ... like the white bus with twelwe musicians hijacked by Reka's team ; the ambulance at Wheat Junction at the beginning of the epilogue... etc. Of course I can't -but all these cars keep running in my mind :D

by the way, looking back at the entire story, the "USB teams" ( bad or good ones) all the time move from car to car and switch vehicles, it's a sort of trademark

Rufusluciusivan, please start another saga :lol:
tirepanted3
Posts: 1934
Joined: Thu Jul 13, 2017 11:40 am

Re: To overthrow the Utopia (Part 5) by Rufusluciusivan

Post by tirepanted3 »

A great ending. The scene with the orchestra was top-notch, a perfect "final steal" for the series. Too bad there wasn't a woman who could steal the driver's clothes, as that would make for a perfect full-circle ending - since the first woman to lose her clothes in your first story was a van driver.

In any case, a remarkable journey. Well done.
rufusluciusivan
Posts: 1224
Joined: Thu Feb 02, 2017 5:08 pm

Re: To overthrow the Utopia (Part 5) by Rufusluciusivan

Post by rufusluciusivan »

Esercito Sconfitto, the defeated army last scenes were added specifically owing to your previous suggestion. ;)

And I completely didn't realize that I could make a full-circle ending. Great observation by the way. ;) I totally forgot about the first uniform steal of the saga. Such a missed opportunity... Curse you male character created to expand the story's lore! Curse you! :lol:

As for another saga, I did leave a few openings at the end to expand other adventures, but currently I don't have an idea for a story. So it will probably have to wait for a while, the time for me to find something.
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