Khino - Killswitch

Get the album on bandcamp: https://khino.bandcamp.com/album/cyberpunk-black Full story: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1EaObmnNR2JLc5DhwGsriNRT69NKJRiBP?usp=sharing Because of YT's character limit this chapter had to be shortened. February 2085 Searchlights pierce the night sky, illuminating chain-link fences and evergreen trees. The mountains in the distance visible only through the absence of stars. Bright blue eyes emerge from behind a long-range binoculars, examining every inch of the military base. “Sure your guy will pull through, K?” “Made him an offer he couldn't refuse. Well, he could, but y'know.” A shadow emerges from behind a tree, his eyes covered by a high-tech visor, his black hair might as well be a hood. She notices him examining his left arm, covered in carbon fiber plates. It opens to reveal a thick barrel, a small screen displaying the number two. “New toy? Didn't see you get that.” “You taught me to be prepared for anything.” “Prepared to blow someone's legs off?” “Whatever we need to win.” He closes his arm and brings it up to the side of his visor “Alright, all teams, execute.” In a moment, all lights in the area go out. Both leaders activate night vision and descend the hill into the base, sixteen shadows following them into total darkness. As they leave, a sniper and spotter duo sets up on their vantage point. Various callouts echoing through their comms, cold and calculating. Rehearsed. Routine. They approach the outer fence through a backside gate, behind an aircraft hangar. Automated turrets dormant, the post left unguarded except for one soldier. Lasers dot his chest as he watches them approach. Trouble in his eyes, but not surprise. He holds his right hand up, with his left he produces a keychain and unlocks the gate. “Evening, sergeant. Nice work with the turrets.” K flows through the opening, keeping his aim on the man. B and the rest of the team flow past them, lining up behind the hangar and providing security. Only two of them remain behind the fence. “You're a real asshole, mister.” The sergeant holds out the keychain, and K grabs it instantly. “Marked and color coded, like I asked?” K resists the urge to check the keys. Taking his eyes off a trained soldier with combat implants would be a severe mistake. “Swear to me they won't be harmed.” “Don't have time for this Jeffords, answer me.” Sergeant Jeffords shakes his head “I expected my superiors to do that, but you? I was wrong about you. You're no different than them.” K grabs him by the collar and slams him into the back of the hangar. The force of his cybernetic arm cracks the wall. “Am I now!? You think a scalpel's no different than a chainsaw because they both cut? You think I got a mass grave pre-dug for all my afternoon kidnappings? Fuck no sergeant, I'm risking everything and I need assurances.” “Swear to me... they won't be harmed.” “Your wife and child will be fine. They're going to New Zealand, commercial flight, same plane as you. I'm fighting a war sergeant, but you wouldn't know about that. Your concept of war is disintegrating fishing boats and bombing children from orbit.” “K.” He looks to his side, blue eyes and a worried look. “That's enough, we got a mission.” K lets go of the man. “Marked and color coded?” “Like you asked.” The sergeant walks outside the fence, joining his escort and fading into the trees. When K rejoins the squad, B whispers to him. “You... want to talk about that later?” “I'll do some journaling.” They approach a side door to the command building, K takes two keys off the keychain and hands it to another operative. “Barracks is green, hangars is yellow. Vic, Liam, you know what to do.” “Roger-roger, Bravo team, let's move” Eight of them split off and fade into the distance. Suppressed shots sound off from the darkness as they meet a patrol. K unlocks the side door and opens it slightly to peek inside, then him and the remaining shadows move into the command building. Minutes pass. Muffled shots, muffled shouts, one of the upper floor walls gets blown open, a soldier plummeting into a railing below. In the distant horizon, two new stars appear. Jet fighters, carrying enough ordinance to level the entire valley. And orders to do exactly that. The planes wail through the night at the speed of death, ready to carry out their orders, but something goes wrong. They fly over the base and their bombs don't drop. When they try to pull up, sparks fly from their consoles and they go down instead. Ejection seats malfunction. In the distant forest, two explosions mark the end of a successful operation. "All teams this is K. Mission successful, Killswitch is in their system." Written and Produced by Khino.