Brothers in Arms — VS3.08 — Virtual Season 3
1
Brothers
in Arms
By Moonshadow, Rachel Wilder
and Rajanna
Episode
VS3.08
2
Virtual Season 3 — VS3.08 — Brothers in Arms
Prologue
Alecʹs sleeping quarters, Terminal City ‐ August 25, 6:00
AM
Terminal City was still and silent just before dawn. Only
the guards, inside and outside the fence, were awake in
the gray light.
On his bedroll, Alec tossed restlessly, dreaming.
In the dream, it was daylight, but Terminal City was de‐
serted. Alec crept through the sleeping quarters, past Logan’s
room. He glanced in the door and saw Max and Logan on the
floor, in a tangle of sheets, making love. They did not hear or see
him. Noiselessly, he slipped through an open doorway and out
into the streets that led to the railroad yards.
Inside one of the old boxcars was a shiny black motorcycle, left
behind by one of the protestors. He climbed on, turned the key,
and rode down a ramp and out the back gate of Terminal
City. No one saw him, no one tried to stop him. The streets of
Seattle were damp and slick from an early‐morning rain, and
shrouded in fog. Then a familiar iron fence and an open gate
emerged from the mist. The Berrisford estate.
Alec rode up the long driveway. Suddenly he was inside the
house, once again unseen and unheard, as he moved through the
music room, down the curved staircase, and to the pool. There,
beside the clear blue water, was Rachel, in white. She held out
her hand and he took it; together they jumped into the pool and
surfaced, laughing. They made love by the water.
Then, abruptly, he was back outside the iron fence, but this time
it surrounded Father Destryʹs church. He put his hand out to
open the gate and Father Destry appeared. ʺIʹm not Ben,ʺ Alec
Brothers in Arms — VS3.08 — Virtual Season 3
3
tried to shout, but his voice was barely a whisper.
The priest frowned. ʺI know who you are,ʺ he said. The church
bells began to ring, and Father Destry turned away. The gate
would not open.
The bike was somehow parked right there on the street. Alec
jumped on it and hit the gas. Now the streets were crowded. He
passed sector police, homeless families, hungry people waiting in
food lines. Then he saw Normal, holding a birthday cake with lit
candles. Normal was shouting something, but it didnʹt make
any sense. Alec couldnʹt take his eyes off the candles and Nor‐
malʹs frantic face. Then he looked up.
Dead ahead of him, the street had become a road curving sharply
out of the city into the woods. He was going far too fast to make
the turn. There was nothing he could do but hang on as the
trees rushed up to him, horribly fast. A white bird flew off a
branch and while he watched it rise, the bike smashed into the
tree...
Panting, bathed in sweat, Alec jerked awake. Light fil‐
tered through the grimy window above his head. Morn‐
ing had come to Terminal City.
Seattle Police Headquarters ‐ 9:00 AM
Commander Ramon Clemente sat in his office, concentrat‐
ing on a TV monitor, playing the latest Eyes Only broad‐
cast over and over again.
“...But can any of us be free if those who fight for us are
treated like slaves? If we allow them to be enslaved, will
we be far behind? Who will be next…our friends, our
neighbors, ourselves? This has been a Streaming Freedom
Video Bulletin via the Eyes Only informant net. Stay
strong in the struggle. Peace. Out.”
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Virtual Season 3 — VS3.08 — Brothers in Arms
Clemente dropped the remote control on the desk, then
stood up and opened the door of his office. Matt Sung
was just arriving, takeout coffee in one hand and the
morning newspaper in the other. MARINERS CLINCH!
read the headline, but at the bottom of the front page was
a small box with a grainy screen capture of Eyes Only and
the caption, HEʹS BA‐ACK!
“Pretty interesting, isnʹt it, Detective?ʺ Clemente
asked. ʺWhy has this guy decided to broadcast again? I
think itʹs time we for a little talk with your friend, Mr.
Cale. I want him in here to answer some questions.ʺ
Matt Sung didnʹt answer.
“Put out an APB. I want Cale in here this afternoon. Un‐
derstood?”
ʺYes, sir,ʺ Sung said faintly as Clemente returned to his
office. As the door closed, Sung tossed the paper down on
his desk in disgust.
* * * * *
Brothers in Arms — VS3.08 — Virtual Season 3
5
Act One
A street, Terminal City ‐ 10:00 AM
Max walked past a line of abandoned warehouses. Seattle
was known for its cloudy weather, but today the scowl on
Maxʹs face showed her skepticism that the sun would ever
shine on Terminal City again. As she walked past one of
the warehouses, she could hear shouting. Max paused,
then entered the building.
The large room had no windows and would have been
dark, but someone had managed to siphon electricity off
the main grid. The warehouse was crowded with X‐series
in their late teens and early twenties, standing around a
ring in which two male X‐series were fighting.
In the corner, the bookmaker shouted, “Everybody, place
your bets! Who’s going to be the winner?”
Max narrowed her eyes. “Wonder if good old Monty
Cora’s got his hands in this?”
She walked over to the bookmaker, leaned against the
table he was standing behind and asked, “How’s it go‐
ing?”
The man shrugged. “We’re running out of beer, but other‐
wise...”
“Running out of beer? This a bar?”
“Nah, folks have been using it for bets. Ever heard the
phrase ʹyour moneyʹs no good hereʹ? If that ainʹt Terminal
City, I donʹt know what is.”
“You’re gambling with beer ‘cause you don’t have
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