[ WP ] Civilization has fallen , but brave treasure hunters have heard the legend of Ft. Knox . The automated defenses , however , are still online .

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 **preparation** 
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 Celeste strapped on the chunky helmet that had been given to her. She shuffled aimlessly while Jones handed out more to the rest of the team. 
 
 *Follow Sparky, and you'll keep in one piece. * 
 
'Fort Knox' was just a fairytale anyway, right? Everyone knew about the gold, that was what they were coming for. But the theories about bio-weapons? Aliens? That had to be a lie. The stories were at least a century old anyway. 
 
 Jones came over to Celeste, holding a cloak lined with dangerous-looking metal. Shards and sticks stuck out, ready to tear skin. 
 
 `` Put this on, it'll deter the satellites.'' Celeste gaped. *Satellites? * Those could n't be working after all those years. The leader read her face like a book. `` They're automated. Probably still buzzing away in space still.'' 
 
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 ^Breaking ^In 
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 Sparky loaded out a huge cannon of a gun. The small, quick engineer, known for his talent at raids, braced it using both hands and his knee. The other one- the'augmented one' was folded under him. 
 
 Celeste could n't help but grin under her cloak. Sparky was one of a kind all right. He fed a thin wire into the heavy machine and let it whirr up into a mechanical hum. With the brilliant smile of a genius, he pulled the trigger, hard. In a split-second, the 22-ton door was gone. 
 
 `` I had to be creative,'' Sparky drawled, `` with a *blast-proof* door.'' 
 
 Celeste followed tentatively into the darkened fort. She knocked her hand in awe against the walls. They must have been at least four feet thick. A bulky man Celeste had never seen before, probably recruited just for this, as was much of the party, smiled at her. 
 
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 ^The ^Fort 
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 `` Be careful of the land-mines'' Jones was saying. *Yeah, yeah*. Land-mines were pretty common to come across in these kinds of places. He paused and thought for a second... `` and the trapdoors. There are probably other traps here too, so, uh... be careful.'' 
 
 Sparky came over to Celeste. Joy followed. A pale haired girl with huge boot-button eyes who had worked with Celeste in the past. She was a highly skilled medic, great for raids like these. 
 
 Sparky pulled out a pair of goggles, and scanned the room for lasers. She glanced again at the left wing, and pulled the goggles off, before sauntering to the right, motioning for Joy and Celeste to follow. 
 
 `` *You* are gon na help me with the *finger-print* scanners,'' he said slowly, as if he had all the time in the world. He really did have a charming accent. 
 
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 ^SOS 
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 Warning lights were flashing, drilling into Celeste's eyes. Alarms wailed, punctuated by bouts of fire from the machine guns. Joy, along with two others, was down. They had n't anticipated spikes, or fire. Poison gas, really? A bit over the top for *metal. * 
 
 Sparky was sweating, unusual for such a relaxed guy, hunched over a bundle of wires, cursing and mumbling under his breath. Jones came panting up behind them, asking if they were ready. 
 
 Sparky looked up, eyes huge. Celeste could n't imagine what he must have been thinking. He looked terrified. 
 
 `` As ready as I'll ever be.'' 
 
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 ^Aftermath 
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 Jones sat at the wheel, but not driving. Celeste could see the worry printed on his face. She looked back over her shoulder. Only three others left. Sparky nervously fiddling with a delicate machine. A young girl, shaking and crying, clutching a bandage to her side, letting a a few drips run into the expanding red pool at her knees. And a bald man, minus arm, sitting by the loot. 
 
 *Was it worth it? * 
 
 The pile of gold and countless other treasures said so. Weapons that Sparky had previously only dreamed of, money to last the party forever, untold secrets. 
 
 The ragged group of injured friends said otherwise. Celeste closed her eyes and let a cold tear run down her cheek. 
 
 Damn that place. 
 Damn it forever. 
 
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 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 
 Thanks for reading this! Sorry it was so long, and probably full of mistakes.
