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At the top of the top of Collins Street, it was tense as they prepared to advance. Hard not to imagine some huge force sitting somewhere poised to strike at them. It was eerily quiet, and the screens were strangely empty.

“That coffee van still down by the river.” Ruby asked

“Not sure.” Noah said

“Task a drone to find it.” She said.

They both laughed. But they did, and yes, there it was. They sprinted for the lift and were out in the street before anyone had the chance to notice.

“Adam, the army guy. What do you make of him?” Noah asked.

“Serious. Committed. I trusted him. He was confident of carrying almost all of them. Only a small minority loyal to the government.”

“You believed him.”

“Give me a reason to doubt him.”

It was surreal getting information feeds from army bases, drone bases, naval bases. Noah continued.

“You know the drill. Communications first, then the airport, then energy, transport and water.”

“Water.”

“The others seem important, they are all flashy but without water it all fails. Water is everything.”

It was still there, the cart. They sprinted across the bridge towards it. The guy remembered them. He was mid 20’s, seemingly enjoying what he was doing. Certainly business was brisk. Four of five in front of them.

“It’s you, again.” He said. “The rebels.”

“Yes.”

“I love you guys. Blowing it away.”

The barista continued.

“They suck you in, with coin offers, equity. Once they have you in they work you over. Pay you for fourty hours and you work one hundred. You don’t dare complain because they will delete your equity. Bastards. They just work you over until you can’t do it anymore. You leave, and there is another victim coming in the door as you go out.”

Ruby waited for him to finish, then smiled.

“You won’t have long to wait.”

As they walked back, more slowly, sipping the coffee. Noah glanced along the river. There were mists coming off the water. As you looked to the west, the arc of the river stood out with the tall buildings as a backdrop. The sun glinting off the glass. Noah turned towards Ruby.

“You think you should have let that go? The timing?”

“You think there is a microphone on the van, a low flying drone? A parabolic microphone pointing from one of the buildings? Or a guy up a tree?”

“They know, anyway.”

“Of course they do. We are watching them. They are watching us. Waiting for a move.”

It all unfolded so quickly.

“What’s that?” Jack asked, pointing at the big screen. On the airport ground view, there was something just visible in the distance, flying low, amongst the trees north of Tullamarine. Noah stared at the large screen, showing the airport and its defences.

They all looked at the screen. At first there was nothing. Then the fluttering of drone blades, low on the horizon. It was almost invisible , coming in low from the East with the sun behind. Oldest trick in the book, used in warfare since it was invented. Designed to confuse any humans or vision systems trained in that direction. Only the satellites would have a good view, and even then it would just show as motion. None of the automatic systems were good enough to detect it.

“They haven’t responded.” He said.

“Can’t see them yet.” Ruby said.

“Triggered automatically?”

“No, a human trigger.”

Somewhere there was a room just like this one. With a group much like this staring at screens.

“Much easier to defend than attack.” Jack said.

“Only if you are well prepared.” Ruby said.

The incoming drones were in clusters. The larger armed drones were surrounded by a swarm of smaller drones. It looked like a swarm of bees rapidly circling a mother ship. Although they looked like they were touching, it was just an illusion as they circulated. They were approaching the airport, and as they came within range of the peripheral sensors, the response began.

“Here we go.” said Noah.

It was almost too fast to follow. The protector drones for the incoming engaged with the outgoing, chasing each other in a whirl of blasts, and destruction. Mostly there was movement. Just movement.

“Surely the airport defence will take out the incoming missile drones.” Noah questioned.

“I don’t think so.” Ruby said.

Noah edged backwards, still looking at the screen. Jack also retreated. A group had gathered back from the action. Nervous excitement filled the air. In the gap between what you imagined and what you saw. As if to watch too closely was to somehow cause it to fail.

Jack swept a hand in the air.

“Awesome.”

“It looks good so far. But they will push back. Yes?”

“Second wave.”

“But the buildings? They can just sit and defend. We going to wait until they run out of food?”

“You worry too much.”

Even those at the front were really just observers. Warfare was mostly autonomous, which in a way made it harder to watch. At least when you had your hand on the trigger, your eyes tracking a target, there was distraction. There was no relief from the frenzy.

On the tarmac it was a blur of action. Parent drones that looked like huge dinner plates, with several hundred micro drones hanging underneath the plate. They approached each other, and like a swarm of mosquitos they embraced each other.

“Why not just fire a missile at the thing?” Noah asked.

“Need it intact. If we destroy it then we have to replace it.”

“How do they get in?”

“Cut through the glass.”

The airport building went black. At first it looked like the displays had failed, but there were sparks of light out on the tarmac.

“What happened?” Jack asked

“Power team getting through.”

“But not to the control tower?”

“No.”

“Is there an emergency backup?”

“Takes a moment or two to kick in.”

A momentary flickering, and then it was back.

There were other groups around the room. Clustered around a set of monitors. Power. Water. All of the action seemed to be at the airport for the moment.

“What’s that? Over there.” Jack asked.

A single vehicle made its way across the tarmac. Unopposed. For the moment.

Noah glanced up.

“It’s ours.”

It had both side and back doors. They lifted and a swarm of various size robots slid out onto the tarmac. Some raced ahead towards the doors. Smaller and more agile. Forming a procession.

“Huh?” Jack turned.

The group gathered speed. As if they were all going to slam against the doors. The front runners climbed the glass and in a flurry drilled - weakening it. Next the middle sized robots laid charges as the vehicle approached.

It was as if it was going to ram the doors. But just at the point of interception the charges blew.

A flurry of dust and smoke.

“In.” Ruby quietly said on the shared channel.

In the confined space of the inside of the airport terminal, it was too fast to follow. Groundbots firing. Vehicles charging. It was just a whirl of dust. The monitors gave assessments. It held in the balance. All they could do was watch and wait.

“It’s a mess.” Noah said.

It was like a physical punch. An actual pressure wave. Noah and Jack almost lost their footing. Certainly they stumbled. Instinctively they looked up. Nothing. The two jet fighters were already snaking low towards the bay. Out westwards. Low. So low. It looked as if they were actually shaving the top of buildings. Did they bring up sand as they turned right across the bay? Or was it their imagination? They kept turning, looking as if the wings were actually touching the water. Almost too fast to follow. Looping back for another run over the city.

Noah turned to Jack to speak. But his words were lost in another punch from the air. Four this time, banking west out following the railway line towards Richmond. Actually lower than the top of the MCG. Snaking along the Monash, heading east.

Jack and Noah rushed forward, back to where Ruby was standing. The whole room was watching as the planes banked, and climbed.

“Jesus.” Noah said. “We under attack?”

“No. Those are ours.” She said.

As suddenly as it started, it was over. Overwhelming force meets the remains of the ultra capitalists. True to form they had only left a skeleton defence and headed north. Beyond the Murray all points north aligned with ‘greed is good’ and ‘all the way with the USA’. Leaving them in charge of the southern part of the continent.

All of a sudden there they were sitting beside the coffee cart again, in shock, and in power.

“What do you think tipped it?” Noah said

“As in how much can a koala bear?” Jack laughed. “The aged bonus all paid for with taxpayers money. Remember them?”

“Yes. I remember the ad campaigns. A combination of the worst of pandering to the old and pandering to dying regions.”

“So was it the climate trashing?” Noah asked.

Jack looked up. “That wasn’t great either. But, no, I don’t think it was that. It was, more than anything the deal. The great bargain.”

“As opposed to a seemingly endless Pacific war where you realise you are on the wrong side?”

“Yes.”

“Our powerful and new best friends.”

“You can’t just go out on your own. Solitary rebellions are smashed. Quickly. Everyone knows that.”

“So we reject the enduring ties with the land of the free and the home of the brave?”

They both collapsed with laughter. Those two words in application to the United States of America. There was absolutely nothing free about it, and certainly nothing brave.

“In favour of the greater east asian co-prosperity sphere?”

“We are pragmatists. We need friends, we are a tiny rebellion at the end of the world. They are pragmatists like us. It works as much for them as it does for us.”