The sun was a red ball setting in the distance. In Minerva’s red atmosphere, it was almost barely distinguishable. The ever-lowering light caught the rocks in the desert and cast long shadows amidst the desert floor.

The streets of Sulfon were empty as the setting sunlight then caught the buildings and the shadows grew longer. A gentle breeze swept some litter and dust down the street. The sidewalks were empty, save for a lone rabbit walking down one side. He wore a pair of dirty jeans and a t-shirt, and a black leather jacket. An oxygen mask covered his face, like many residents of Minerva who work outside in the oxygen-poor air.

But this was no ordinary resident of Minerva, for the main difference was the shotgun slung over his shoulder. He glanced around tensely before approaching a door on the side of a building, and glanced around a final time before knocking on the door.

There was a pause. The rabbit expected this as the occupants inside would check the security system to see who it was from the camera peering down above his head. The door swung open to reveal a small room, with another door at the end. The rabbit walked in, and the outside door closed with a hiss as it sealed airtight.

A humming sound emitted as pumps enriched the air with oxygen. The rabbit counted to thirty, than removed his mask and turned the tank off. He coughed slightly as his lungs adjusted to the amount of oxygen in the room, after another 30 seconds, the inner door swung open.

The rabbit walked into a rather well worn bar. There is a group of 5 rabbits at a table; the rest of the bar empty. The rabbit expected this, as it was after hours for the bar. The curfew imposed by the Minerva government caused business hours for all stores to be shortened to just before sunset. The rabbit walked over to the group and grabbed a seat, starting with “You could have saved a glass for me, you know.”

One of the rabbits stared at him “I’m sure the barkeep would do that if he was here, Gary. Were you followed?”

Gary shook his head “No. The police are at their checkpoints, as usual, and I took the long way to avoid them. What’s the scoop here?”

One of the rabbits pulled a piece of paper out of an envelope, and pushed it towards Gary. Gary read it, and passed it to the rabbit next to him. The rabbit who handed the paper out put the envelope on the table and said “Jack wants us to disable the military. That main Rabbit legion base in Echoing Canyon is preparing to reinforce the police, and we don’t want that.”

“So how do we do that, Don? An attack on the base would be suicide, and that paper you gave me just has a bunch of military installations on it.”

“Ah yes.” Said Don, as the last rabbit read the paper and handed it back to him. “You might notice the locations are listed by what we attack first.” He put his finger on the first line. “The first target would be the Resupply base North of Sulfon. Knock that out, and the next target would be the naval laser at Kamera’s Pit Stop, and so on.”

The group was silent for a moment. Then Gary asked “How soon can we attack?”

Another rabbit answered “We can start moving at midnight. Depending on how we assemble them. Mike, what are the defenses?”

Mike, who was a little dusty and travel worn, said “Aside from the basic defenses, there are about 5 archer tanks, a couple of attack choppers and about 50 troops.”

Gary said “That should be easy with our army. Our contacts with the black market have paid off well, and the rebellion has picked up speed since last month. An attack plan should be easy.”

“Hey, wait a minute Gary” Mike objected. “We can’t just charge at the gate. That wouldn’t be wise. We have to keep our losses at a minimum, you know.”

“The whole base is surrounded by concrete walls, Mike. I’ve studied the scout photos, you’ve seen it personally. How else are we gonna get in?” Gary asked

”We could dig a tunnel.” Don suggested. “Only problem is it would take a while to dig.”

“It’s not getting in, so much as how we get in.” Mike said “What we should do is knock the defenses off with rockets, and take out any troops outside. Then they have to open the gate to let more troops and tanks out. And when they are doing that, have a team knock a tank out as it passes through the gate, and there’s our “Doorjamb” Otherwise, if they don’t open the gate, we’ll open it for them.”

“Heh! Sounds like a good plan right there!” Said Gary “One thing I should mention,” Don said. “Jack wants the communications building intact.” “Why would he want that?” asked Gary “He did not say, but I imagine it’s for the intelligence” replied Don

“So all we need to do is assemble our troops.” Gary said. We can discuss the invasion movement when everyone is assembled. Everyone agree with the plan?”

They all nodded in succession, and Gary stood up.

“They will see the hammer fall, and we shall hit them like a ton of Iron”