The Destruction of Batana

MISI

I was staring at the view of Keios City. Until the question in my mind. Are the residents of this city not tired of seeing the sky which is only decorated with building debris? Don't they have any hope of seeing the sky out there? All these questions just popped up. I myself gradually began to yearn to look at the morning sky with all its coolness, the afternoon sky with all its description, the afternoon sky with all its shade, and the night sky with a million flickering.

Tired of looking at the scenery, I decided to go to sleep. This journey will be long. I also have to save energy. Anything can happen. I could have been directly assigned when I arrived at Keios Army Headquarters. I closed my eyes. It was easy to fall asleep for me. There are no more difficulties I have.

We have arrived at our destination. A bus pulled over at one of the available parking spots. I could see a huge building with metal dominating. The walls of the headquarters were filled with a bright green light that formed a checkered pattern. Making the building look modern.There are unique vehicles neatly lined up in the courtyard of the headquarters. All of these vehicles have snouts like rhino horns.

I stared at the astonishment of the soldiers who went back and forth while carrying weapons everywhere. They were all wearing bulletproof vests that read “Keios” Warriors. They wear helmets that cover their faces. For shoes they wear knee-high boots. There are some attributes like a special handgun bag hanging around their waist and some other bags that I don't know of.  It is all dominated by black. There was a hint of bright blue as a marker that they were graduates of the Sky Academy.

We would-be soldiers started getting off the bus. Someone is waiting for us. His body looked stocky, his age was probably around thirty years old. Her hair was black and back. His eyes were cold with sharp brow curves. Makes her look cynical. His chin was filled with beards. He was wearing a warrior's outfit. I just don't wear a helmet.

“Please line up according to each division!”

We quickly carried out the instructions he gave. Within a few seconds, we were already lined up neatly according to their respective divisions.

“Gosh! What the fuck? There are only five people who become frontline warriors?” He looked up, as if he could not believe what he saw.

“It's body is not too big.” He looked at us one by one. His view seemed underestimated. I was a little upset by his words. Doesn't that mean he calls us little?

The soldier led us into the base. My gaze was fixed on the ceiling of the room filled with iron that crossed each other. The hallway itself has a width of 7 meters and a height of 5 meters. This means that each room has a larger area. We arrived at the heart of the base. And how surprised I was to see the entire base.

The base has 15 floors underground. The floor I was on was the top floor. We all took an elevator to the underground. The elevator is quite large and made of glass. I could see the entire building and the bustle of the soldiers from the transparent elevator.

We arrived on the seventh floor. I don't know where we're going this time. We just tailed behind the soldier like a duck that was following its mother. Looking around us. We arrived somewhere. A large field. The floor is covered with marble with room on each side. There are four gates on each side of the room.

“Start from here, you will be separated according to your respective divisions. For the five frontline warriors, follow me. And the others will be guided by other warriors.”

I followed the soldier back with four others. Towards a dressing room. He gave us clothes. The clothes used by the Keios Warriors. There is a number that says “1411” on his arms and chest. Maybe it's some kind of call code. I looked at the cool clothes. Makes me remember I was just a 16-year-old boy. Now I'm one of them. Part of the Keios Warrior.

After that, we changed our clothes and were taken to the gun room. The room was filled with weapons I didn't recognize. One of the things that caught my attention the most was the large weapon hanging on the side of the room. The weapon looks large with a long muzzle, there is a scope on the top, and a trigger shaped like an upside-down catapult. The handle itself looks like a knife handle. However, it was no stranger than the other weapons I encountered in the room. It was so strange that I couldn't explain it in words.

We were armed with a rifle. The rifle is able to throw five bullets in 2 seconds, not too heavy and the grip feels comfortable. There was a restraint near the hilt so that the weapon would not be easily released when we were firing bullets.

We were taken to a simulation room to test the weapon. In the room there is a board that is formed like RP-2 as a target. I started to try this weapon. The last time I held a real gun was when I was 16. The day I was chased by the robot. RP-2 or you could call it a Border Guard Robot.

We have tested the weapon. The soldier who was guiding us explained why he gave us the weapon.

“My reason for giving you those weapons is because you are still beginners.you will not be directly placed on the front line. You only serve as a coating or defense. If the one in front falls you will continue the fight. I remind you once again, the RP-2 is not as easy to beat as you did in the simulation. So, are you sure you'll go ahead?” The soldier looked at us with a serious look.

The five of us nodded in unison. That was our purpose here from the beginning.

“Good, I am very grateful with your steadfastness. Then I'll introduce myself. I'm Lieutenant Danzou. Frontline army leader. The frontline troops themselves were divided into five groups. Each group has different abilities and tasks. I'll explain the duties of each of those groups.”

“The first group is the gate guard troops. As the name suggests, this army was only assigned to guard the gates of Keios City from being damaged. In addition to the gate, these troops must check if there is a gap that makes RP-2 into the city. Sometimes the robots accidentally detect the presence of humans. Damaging the debris up there and resulting in the opening of the gap. At least we are grateful because the robot's radar is very weak. And of course if the robot can enter one of the gaps, you have to kill it. No matter how life is at stake.”

“The second group is the defense forces. This force serves as a defense if such robots can enter through the main gate of Keios City. That's why Keios is surrounded by fortifications even though we are already under rubble. Your job is not only to keep the city from the robot, of course you also have to be aware of strangers entering the gate.”

That sentence reminded me of the moment I first entered this city.

“The third is the mayor's protective force. Sometimes the mayor has to leave Keios City to attend important meetings in other cities. Surely our mayors are not completely isolating themselves from the outside world. These troops will escort the mayor out of the city. We have a gate that can be opened. That's the exit of the Keios. However, sometimes when the mayor was about to exit through the line, RP-2 tried to enter from the gate. If so, this is the task of the gatekeeper.”

“The fourth group is the attacking team. This army is a group that takes a lot of casualties. However, the highest dream of Keios City residents is to be free from these robots. Therefore this group is filled with people who have strong determination.

“And the last group with the fewest members is the scout troop. The reason for that was because this group had a more difficult task than the attacking forces. Even more at risk among other forces. This army only sent 2-3 people in carrying out missions. Their job is to count, monitor, investigate all the robots that are above the City of Keios. That is why this is one of the most risky tasks. They are also not allowed to carry weapons except for weapons that do not make a sound or trigger the attention of RP-2. Unfortunately, weapons like this are not effective against the robot. But of course I will not include anyone in this group except with personal consent.

“I give you five minutes to think, decide which group you will go to.”

It's a tough choice. Either I have to choose a risk path or a safe path. But my mind was more on the path of risk because I was very curious about whether my current ability to fight the robot. I decided to be an attacker.I didn't choose to be a scout because I didn't feel talented in analyzing or anything like that.

“Time out! Now tell me your name and decision!”

Two men chose to become gate guard soldiers. One person chose to be the mayor's bodyguard. One man becomes a soldier of defense. And I became an attacker.

“I accept all your decisions. Before you join each group, call your motto!”

“HIGH LIFTING PURPOSE AND FUTURE OF MANKIND!” We exclaimed compactly.

“READY US CAN!”

　

　

***

　

　

I immediately joined the attacking team. The number of members is not much, only a hundred people. The members were seen busy listening to someone standing in front of the troops. It seems he is explaining a strategy to fight the robot.  I asked one of the soldiers what the name of the leader of this group was.

“Namea Sunkawan. We call him Captain Wan. He's young, he's 27. He was the one who killed the most RP-2. His ability is beyond doubt. When he was on a mission, he was always in the front row. Lead this team directly.”

I nodded, then noticed Captain Wan who was explaining about the plan to fight the RP-2.

“For the next mission we will use explosives to destroy them at once. I plan on gathering them in one place and blowing them up together. So I need a team to lure them in as we know the robot will only react once it sees a human. Does anyone want to apply to be bait robot?”

“Captain I want to ask a question!” A soldier stood up from his seat. Captain Wan nodded. Make permissible.

“I think this plan is too risky. What if the debris up there collapses as a result of the impact of the explosion?”

Captain Wan smiled. “I didn't say this plan would be carried out over the rubble. I plan to keep them away from Keios City. Do you remember if Keios was in the valley? I will use the valley as a battleground.”

The soldiers nodded. It seems like a reasonable plan.

“Then I continue my question, who is willing to be the bait to provoke the attention of the robot?”

About 20 people raised their hands.

“Good, I'm so grateful for your courage. The rest will be divided into groups. That is the team that will direct the robot not to come out of the explosion point, the team that will install explosive devices around the valley, the, and finally the team that will kill the remaining RP-2 if for example there are some robots that survive the explosion. I'll appoint a chairman in each of those groups.”

I don't really agree with that plan. Couldn't the sound of the explosion provoke the attention of other robots outside Keios? I decided to stand up.

All the views were directed towards me. Including Captain Wan. He nodded, allowing me to talk.

“What if the robots outside Keios City were triggered by the sound of the explosion, wouldn't this be even more dangerous?”

The atmosphere of the room began to get crowded. The soldiers whispered to each other, some nodded in agreement with my words. Captain Wan remained calm, he looked at me with a smile.

“You must be a new kid. Name me!”

“Lian.” I answered briefly with a flat face.

“Surely I've thought about it, Lian. Thanks for reminding me. You can sit back.”

I returned to my sitting position. Captain Wan began to explain in full about this plan.

“As Brother Lian said, this explosion could trigger the attention of other robots located outside of Keios City. That's why the risk of this plan is so great, I plan to add one more team, a sniper team. The task of this team is to block the robots that arrive from outside the area of Keios City until the other troops managed to get back into the plane. This plan actually only serves to reduce the amount of RP-2. Because we still haven't found a way to wipe out all those robots. I've asked the surveillance team, they said if the number of RP-2 up there has reached 30. That's the highest number of the previous months. Surely we can't let them pass around with their leisure up there.”

I'm not sure about this plan. But seeing Captain Wan's face full of confidence, I stopped to protest.

“So, do you guys agree with this plan?” Captain Wan asked to make sure.

“Ya, we agree!” We answered in unison.

“This plan will be done next week. We will carry out this mission during the day because if we do at night it will be difficult to see the position and movement of the robots. Make sure until then you all prepare well!”

“Ready Captain!” We salute. Then disperse.

My heart is beating fast. I haven't seen the outside world for two years. And of course I'll be reunited with the Border Guard Robot. The robot that once became my biggest fear. Makes the night feel long and full of pain. Because of the robot Liana was injured. Because of that robot Liana, my only sister died. Though my biggest grudge was actually killing Zenzen. The bandits who changed my life. It made me live a bitter life. However, for now I have to fight those robots so that nothing else can stand in my way