The Winter Tyrant

Chapter 97: At The Gates

Daniel stood in a watchtower just inside the front gates of Elysium, overlooking the influx of recent arrivals. A line of refugees from the settlements Aidan and his raiders burned to the ground went on far longer than he wanted it to.

Put simply, the Bandits had gone on the warpath, brutalizing their pets that had dared to bite the hand that fed them.

There was no telling how many were buried beneath the snow. But at least a hundred from all corners of the region found their way to Elysium’s gates begging for food, shelter, and security.

But until now the gates remained closed.

"How’s it going out there, have any dispersed yet?"

Daniel looked behind to see Todd climbing up berm to meet them, but he didn’t answer. He instead handed the binoculars off, allowing Todd to look them down and see for himself.

It was as he feared, the herd has not thinned in the slightest. Instead, the shouts were growing louder.

"Let us in!"

"This is your fault!"

"Please! My child is injured and needs medical treatment! Why won’t you help us?"

The responses from the crowd were mixed as could be. Some were hopeful for aid, others were bitter and resentful for the consequences of their actions and looking for someone else to blame.

Todd shook his head while handing the binoculars back to Daniel who was resting against the edge of the tower.

"How many of them do you think are out there?"

"One hundred and twenty seven...." Daniel didn’t hesitate with his answer, he simply drank from his canteen and placed it back on his belt after he had spoken.

Todd looked back out and did a mental head count. It was brief but enough to confirm that Daniel’s figure wasn’t likely erroneous.

"So... do you want to tell the boss man? Or should I?"

Daniel reached into his pocket and pulled out a coin. An old relic of a dead world, he showed it off to Todd Ias its weight rested on his palm.

’Heads or tails?"

"Tails," Todd said with a smirk on his face. Daniel flipped the coin and returned Todd’s smug expression with an even greater gesture.

"Heads, sucks to suck, doesn’t it?"

"Fuck!" Todd cursed beneath his breath as he reached towards his shoulder and pressed the push to talk button.

"This is Lochagos-Beta, We’ve got a serious problem at the front gates. The refugees aren’t budging, in fact they are growing increasingly discontent. What are you orders? Over and out."

The line had static for a long time... And then a single acronym came over the wire.

"LRAD...."

The LRAD... Daniel looked up at Todd and scoffed.

"Zach was bragging about how they used that damn thing to disperse a bunch of fucking monkeys from the hospital. Do you think it actually works?"

Todd was already moving down the stairs, on his radio calling out orders as he headed to the agoge’s arms locker.

"This is Lochagos-Beta, which one of you assholes did the Archon teach how to use the LRAD? Get your ass to the Agoge now and help me deploy this thing. We’re dispersing the refugees. Over and out."

By the time Todd arrived at the Agoge, he found the men there who were properly trained on the LRAD. They had already moved it into a sled. They quickly dragged it off to the front, where the sentries were growing increasingly anxious.

The crowd had begun to throw snowballs up towards the towers where the Hoplites stood, their fingers brushing over the safeties of their weapons as they scanned the crowd for greater threats.

Daniel observed the growing tensions and was just about to call for clarification of orders when he saw Todd arrive with the others.

They swiftly set up the sound of cannon and pointed it in the direction of the refugees. Todd taking a stand above the nearest barricade to gain the attention of the crowd.

"Disperse! This is your last warning!"

His words were drowned out by the rage, the sorrow, and the envy of those gathered outside their gates. And Todd simply looked over at his nearby comrade and gave him a simple nod.

The LRAD was activated, and immediately those facing its fury covered their ears and screamed.

Immediately the crowd broke and began to disperse. The weakest among their ranks routing and fleeing in the opposite direction. Anywhere was fine as long as they could get away from the sound cannon.

Others tried to endure but found themselves falling to the floor desperately trying to stop their nerves from feeling as if they were on fire.

But in the end, their will too was broken ,and they fled in the path the others had trudged through the snow. Abandoning the belongings that they had carried with them on the journey to Elysium’s gates.

Once the crowd was gone, Todd ordered the LRAD to be deactivated and returned to storage. He then looked at Todd, who had already ordered his men to flood the gates and inspect the supplies left behind.

After all, there was no telling what was booby trapped, and what wasn’t.

The two captains nodded at each other in silence as they continued with their given tasks. Neither of them thought once about the fate of the refugees who fled.

---

Dean sat in his hot tub, Yuki was clinging close to his side. And Katherine was sitting on the other side of the steaming water.

After giving the order to peaceably dispersed the crowd of refugees, he felt he need for a deep soak.

Katherine had joined him and Yuki, but she wasn’t the least bit happy. In fact she was practically scowling at Dean.

Something that Yuki took fault with, as she called the woman out to her face.

’Get off your high horse, Katherine... We didn’t have the capacity to look after them. It was necessary."

Katherine continued to glare in silence for a long while before finally sighing and shaking her head.

"I know... I mean... it pisses me off. I’m a trauma surgeon, for God’s sake! I took an oath to help people like that. But... I know... okay? I’m just having a hard time getting used to it. I mean this was our fault wasn’t it?"

Dean reached towards his nearby beer and took a sip before speaking on the matter.

"I mean, does it really matter whose fault it is? We don’t have the luxury of thinking in such terms. The fact of the matter is, Elysium cannot sustain these refugees until we get our hands on the foundry and can scale our current systems beyond capacity. We don’t have the food, water, heat, or medicine to care for them. Besides, they knew the risks when they acted on our behalf."

Katherine wanted to find fault with Dean’s words and even opened her mouth to scold him. But she couldn’t... Because he was right.

She sighed and groaned, sinking beneath the water’s surface, before raising again. A momentary action to vent her frustration.

When she resurfaced, she slapped her own cheeks twice before finally calming down.

"Okay.... I get it... I’m fine now, I am. I just don’t know how you can be like this all the time? I mean how many people died the other night? How many of those people we turned away will starve or freeze to death now because of our actions? Don’t you ever-"

"How many of them hold resentment towards us for the consequences of their own actions and would sabotage our efforts if we allowed them through our gates to settle here? It’s not just about supplies and capacity, Katherine. In any era, refugees are an insurmountable security risk." Dean said as he cut the woman off mid sentence.

However, Katherine thought about Dean’s words for all of two seconds before trying to rebut him.

"You don’t know that!"

Dean however shook his head and corrected her.

"I do... Even if the majority are genuinely fleeing a harder life, a small minority will take advantage of our kindness and use it to bury us. Look how quickly they turned to violence when we wouldn’t open our gates for them. That’s all the proof I need."

Katherine couldn’t stop herself from scoffing.

"Snowballs? You’re calling that violence?"

But Dean didn’t take the bait, instead he snuffed Katherine’s argument on the spot.

"First it is snowballs, then it is rocks, then it’s Molotovs and bullets. Not only do we not have the capacity to feed or house anyone else, we don’t have the luxury to take such a risk. Until we can expand our operations at a sustainable level, they are entirely on their own. And that is how it has to be."

Yuki added to Dean’s words in a way that forced Katherine to concede.

"Katherine, I know you’re upset, it’s hard to turn away people who are hungry, cold, and scared. But if we don’t... We will end up just like them soon enough."

Katherine sighed and sank back into the water. She knew that Dean and Yuki were right. It was the same logic that caused her to flee the hospital during the early days of the long winter.

But, it still felt as wrong now as it did then....