Ein langer Weg .. ( a long way)

[Schattenkralle92]

Old Trading Port, New Berlin
November 27, 835 A.S.

The freighter was in sight and Karl had already gone ahead to start the engines.
Lutz hid behind some crates with the others to assess the situation one last time. Several minutes had passed since the encounter with the Imperials, and they had surely raised the alarm.

The freighter stood at the end of an old loading dock that rose above a ledge. The metal structure was built right at the edge to make the most of the sloping terrain, and therefore overhung the precipice by a third.
A reinforced metal grid was installed around the perimeter to prevent workers from accidentally falling.

Below stood simple houses, belonged to workers and dockers who carried out their daily work in the nearby new commercial port.
The new, large loading cranes were clearly visible on the horizon, still in motion even now in the dark of night.

Several stacks of large shipping containers were lined up on the square, providing some good cover. Behind them lay the old depot. The rather dilapidated-looking building seemed abandoned, and Lutz could not see any Imperial troops.
“Go! Go!” Karl shouted to them from the rear ramp of the freighter, waving his arms wildly.

So the group set off. Just as they were about to pass the last stack of transport containers, the square was suddenly illuminated by floodlights from the old depot.
Blinded, the whole group crouched down, and a figure emerged from behind the transport container.

Lutz tried to recognize her, but his eyes needed a few seconds to overcome the shock of the light.
A person with short brown hair, holding a blaster pistol and dressed in the typical brown and black Marinenachrichtendienst uniform, approached him.

The steps were short and graceful, the outline of a woman. She raised the blaster pistol and aimed it at Lutz, who was slowly standing up.
“Well, well. Lutz Berger on behalf of the Marinenachrichtendienst, I presume? Very interesting story.”

That voice. It seemed unexpectedly familiar to Lutz. His eyes still couldn't make out her face.
“I never thought I'd meet you again as a fugitive.”

Now it finally dawned on him.
“Gloria? Gloria Fuchs. Is that you?”

“Ah ha! So you haven't forgotten me. Too bad I have to arrest you here. Männer, Seize him!”
Immediately, more Imperials approached the group.

“Fraternizing with enemies of the Empire, assaulting Imperial Police officers, and illegally entering a restricted area. How low have you sunk, Lutz?”
“You don't understand. They're just children. Kinder verdammt! Not enemies of the Empire.”

Gloria stared piercingly into the faces of the students crouching on the ground behind Lutz.
Karl now approached the group, escorted by two more Imperials.

“So what? They surely knew what they were doing. Everyone must answer to the law.”

One of the men escorting Karl stood next to Gloria.
“Agent Fuchs. The fugitives are in custody, we've taken over the rest. Many thanks to you and the Marinenachrichtendienst for your assistance in the hunt.”

Lutz pulled himself up.
"Gloria, please. They're students. You've told me so many times how you used to engage in endless debates about freedom and democracy with your professors. Were you so different from these kids? Is it so wrong to want a better world for the future?"

“Shut up, Bundschuh scum!” With a violent blow from his rifle butt, the Imperial knocked Lutz back to his knees.

“Enough now, you want to take them to HQ alive and unharmed, don't you?”

“Alive? They are traitors and, according to our orders, are to be shot immediately.”
The Imperial mob laughed maliciously, the man prepared himself, raising his rifle and aiming it at Lutz.

“Gloria! Come to your senses, please!”

Gloria now also raised her blaster pistol and took aim, then fired. The square was briefly illuminated by the greenish glow of the plasma flash. Time seemed to stand still. A second became an hour, a millisecond a minute.
Just a moment ago, the Imperial's face had been twisted into a malicious grin, but now it was blackened by the plasma wound on his temple. It took a moment, then his lifeless body slumped and he fell to the ground. As he did so, he dropped his already loaded blaster rifle.

Lutz's survival instinct took over. He threw himself forward toward the blaster rifle, his military training causing him to tense his back muscles. As he moved forward, he grabbed the rifle and immediately rolled over onto his back. Kneeling on his right leg, he came to a stop, the rifle already at the ready and aimed at the next Imperial.
He fired immediately, hitting him in the shoulder.

All this happened in a fraction of a second.
The man who was hit screamed loudly and threw himself to the ground, seeking protection behind some crates.

Now time seemed to catch up with events again and the slowdown was gone.
Immediately, the square was plunged into a storm of plasma flashes as Gloria and Lutz engaged in a fierce firefight with the Imperials. Their excellent training was evident in their accuracy, but the Imperials had superior numbers and were already beginning to flank the square.

Meanwhile, Karl had correctly assessed the situation and, with the two girls under his arm, had already begun to retreat to the freighter at a run. The rest of the group followed him.

Lutz had meanwhile sought cover behind the last transport container with Gloria, and the two tried to slow down the advance of the Imperials as best they could.
A few seconds later, Lutz finally heard the redeeming sound of the cargo ship's engines.

“Go, I'll cover you!” Gloria shouted to him. Firing two more bursts, Lutz made his way to the ramp.
He had already reached it and the freighter was slowly beginning to lift off the ground when he heard a hiss and a loud scream behind him.

He turned abruptly and saw Gloria on the ground, holding her right thigh.
“Scheiße!” he exclaimed loudly.

"Fly away. I'll get her!" he shouted to Karl and jumped off the ramp.
Firing continuously, he ran straight towards Gloria. He dropped the blaster rifle and lifted the injured woman up. He wrapped one arm tightly around her waist and the other under her knees. He pressed her upper body against his and began to run towards the precipice.

The freighter had already taken off and, under heavy fire, had disappeared behind some billboards.
“You idiot! You should have left me here.”

“No way!” replied Lutz, who was moving toward the precipice at an ever-increasing pace. Plasma bolts struck left and right of them, and the Imperials slowly closed in on them.

“It's over,” gasped Gloria, slowly losing consciousness.

“It's only over when we give up.” Running forward, bent over, Lutz prepared to jump over the metal fence.

In disbelief at the sight before them, the Imperials ceased fire. He simply jumped into nothingness. Straight into the abyss. Without even flinching.
A few seconds passed, then the Imperials realized their mistake. When they heard the roar of engines and Lutz suddenly reappeared in front of them with Gloria in his arms.

He had jumped onto the roof of the cargo ship, which Karl had skillfully held in position below the ledge.
With a cheeky salute, Lutz said goodbye to the dumbfounded Imperial soldiers as the freighter flew away into the cold night sky.

---

With the start of the wildfire . . . its the end of an empire
In the death of a desire . . . its the end of an empire
again . . . again . . . again . . .
At the edge of the hellfire . . . its the end of an empire
In the line of the gunfire . . . its the end of an empire
again . . . again . . . again . . .
Through space and time . . . you can't escape this paradigm
At the close of a lifetime . . . its the end of an empire
this time
Another ending that's beginning to unfold . . . its the end of the Rheinland empire

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