Rebellion (Rebel Wars Book 1) Read online

  There was excitement and preparation going on in the lower half of the ship. Every drop pod was inspected multiple times for mechanical preparations and equipment loadout. The cylindrical tubes were equipped with parachutes to slow impact and reverse thrusters to aid in proper landing accuracy. There were a few small arms turrets lining the outside walls to give covering fire to the men inside. Extra ammunition and weapons would be hidden within the inside panels in case they needed to re-supply mid fight, each panel boasting a homing beacon and enough jet fuel to move to the requested area. It was quite genius to have a drop pod that could do everything these could do. One of the few high-tech gifts given to them by scientists other than the Tillmans. Stormbreaker continued its towards its determined destination undaunted by the harmless pings of fast moving ships on its sensors. There was no time to second guess.

  Chapter 13

  When the ship slowed down and entered into the solar system, Alice marveled at all of the different planets within view. This section of the galaxy was tightly packed with planets and moons and moving undetected through them would have been exceedingly difficult without the help of Project. Project would stop what he was doing every few minutes to inform Alice of the difficult tasks it had made look like child’s play. She was about fed up with his bragging as they inched closer to the Demon’s gaudy lair, the Dungeon. She could see it on the video feeds and watched as some smaller vessels left the moon-sized station and headed elsewhere. Project tracked them and ruined their sensors ability to notice them.

  “You realize the A.I. in the Dungeon’s systems are quite stupid for artificial intelligence. I believe I could convince them we aren’t here just by telling them so.” He boasted.

  “Probably. Project, Milly, you have control of the ship. I’m going to prepare my team.” She stated, taking off from the bridge. Her team would consist of herself and four other men. These were men she’d never met before and had been classified as special operatives. The first was an older man named Mayberry. He had successfully infiltrated several Corporation capital ships and was an expert in their systems. He was not known for his cowardice and had a mean gun-hand. She was glad he had accepted the task above anyone else on the team. His face was thick with scars and facial hair and reminded her of an ancient Earth pirate. She smiled at the thought, wondering if he’d be more at home on a ship facing scurvy and British admirals than infiltrating a base.

  The second member of her team was a woman named Sarah Keen. Sarah was a rifle expert, and preferred long-distance engagements to hand-to-hand, and hated close quarters combat. She’d make an excellent choice for covering fire if it came to that and had a nose for trouble. If psychic powers hadn’t been completely disproven to exist naturally in the world, Alice would have been convinced she had such incredible intuition to qualify. Third came Bryant. Bryant was dull, incredibly boring to talk to and not the brightest. He had more experience in firefights than anyone else she had ever met, and was known as “Two Guns” in the more combative circles he frequented. It was difficult being accurate with one weapon, let alone two and Bryant had earned his nickname by carving up entire squads with his hand-held rapid-fire slug weapons. Rounding out her team of five (counting herself) was their grenadier. Louis knew how to wire and create bombs on the fly and would have been incredibly useful for any fire-team. She had to fight to keep him for herself from Hero who had fallen in love with the idea of blowing up a group of enemies before they even knew to pull the trigger. He was a small man, barely hitting the five foot mark and looked malnourished though he ate more the large men on her ship.

  Alice met with all of them in the docking bay of the Stormbreaker. They surrounded her without a single smile, she hadn’t picked the lighthearted group. They looked her over, satisfied that her apparatus would help keep them alive to get the mission done. They weren’t sold on the concept of capturing a fabled inquisitor and making him give them access to the Library, yet their options were slim. Routine gear checks lead to a lot of clicking sounds followed by them handing their gear off to another member of the squad for double checks. Communication channels would be handled by Project to prevent the demoralizing anthem from flooding their ears should they be discovered. The last thing Alice ever wanted to hear again was the anthem.

  They approached the exit and held on to the safety bars to retain balance. Alice’s apparatus was fully charged and the stimulation to her muscles eased softly to a bare pulse. She couldn’t risk any unnecessary movements causing her to lose balance or concentration. Soft thuds echoed from around her as the drop pods were fired into space, heading towards the ports that lined the space station. It was convenient for there to be so many airlocks, but the Corporation had mastered space safety. They were more accustomed to space stations and colonies than being planet-side, though that was understandable due to the expense required to create a breathable atmosphere on most planets. Most planets for that matter didn’t even have solid ground to place one’s feet upon.

  “Comm check.” Alice said.

  “Hero with team one, nearing target.”

  “Fiora, Paladin Squad. Ten minutes.”

  “Marshall with squad two.”

  “Squad Three, Brickstone speaking.”

  “Squad Four in bound to target, Sgt. Gorn speaking.”

  Alice pictured the faces of every person speaking. She’d met Gorn, Brickstone, and Marshall only once before the flight and was certain they were worth including on the mission. They weren’t the best of the best, as Councilman Tate wouldn’t spare her the top special operatives in the field and yet she was confident in their abilities. Her faith had not been tested in a good long while especially her faith in good rebellion soldiers. They had done outstanding things in the short time the war had been going on, and they had made headway that she imagined few other races had done against the Corporation. Time would tell what game the Corp HQ was playing and Alice knew Robert Tate would adapt to that game.

  “Alice, prep for landing.” Project said, the ten minutes between loadout and drop-off passing far quicker than she’d even realized. Her squad turned their attention to the door, Alice meanwhile wishing she could see what was happening from the bridge. Milly would have geared the ship’s weapons to open fire at the first sight of resistance, no sounds of guns could be heard.

  “Go.” Project stated as the hissing sound of gasses being exchanged popped the lock open and revealed a wide open street lined with shacks. The artificial sky was dark with clouds and the illusion of smog, a gothic approach to décor. Alice’s team dropped out of the sky and landed the twenty feet to the ground, her servos kicking in and absorbing the pressure from the fall. The rest of the team landed in their own fashion, Bryant rolling to the ground and standing up with both of his machine-pistols sweeping the area. Mayberry and Louis had dampeners in their boots as well to absorb the impact, Mayberry holding a scattergun in his burly hands, the monstrous barrel wide and showing its fangs. Louis opted to keep his hands free from anything other than a specially made remote in his hands, but death from him would come from the large pack resting between his shoulder blades. The device had been specially suited to allow him to create explosives on the run with the help of the keypad in his hands. Several tubes stretched out from the backpack, giving him leave to send anything after him into a fiery ball. Alice liked the idea of having heavy fire support like that.

  Last to hit the ground with a measure of grace came Sarah, rappelling down with a gas powered grappling hook she had equipped to the wrist of her left arm. Her right arm burdened her Talon rifle. Talon rifles were manufactured by the Talon Corporation as the name implied, also capable of ripping flesh apart as the name implied. The Talon was a long range rifle with mid-range capabilities in the hands of a skilled user, so Sarah would rely on her team to keep anything up and close to her from putting her into the dirt permanently. Alice was certain they weren’t going to have to worry about that.

  The shacks were either abandoned or sealed as th
ey made their way through the streets, the Stormbreaker taking off behind them and sealing the dock shut. The feeling that she would never see that ship again struck her hard, but she was the leader and had to shake it off. No words were exchanged, and the radios were strangely silent. She wanted progress reports on everything that was going on and yet she heard nothing. Every transmission was being handled by Project and filtered through in order to keep the teams focused on their particular missions. Fiora was breaking down the gates to the castle as they made their way towards the back-route. Hero was taking down the power plant in an effort to shut-down the defenses that might interfere with their assault and escape. Radios and sensors were being dealt with by Marshall and Brickstone with Gorne engaging the local law-enforcement to keep things chaotic. This space station had less than 90,000 people aboard it and only a small percentage of that would be combatants. The Demon was arrogant and surrounded himself with industry and intellectual pursuits over the military kind, besides his inquisitors were here to stop anyone with too much gumption than was good for them.

  Alice’s team moved quickly through the shacks and approached a grate in the ground. Bryant easily pulled the grate loose dropped down the hole. Everyone else followed once the grunt gave his word they were clear. These maze-like intestinal tunnels of the Dungeon were created for the exact opposite of entering, but leaving. The Demon liked to send his prisoners out this way, taking bets on who would be able to survive the various monsters and traps he laid inside the pipes. Alice had been able to obtain (with Project’s help he’ll remind her) a detailed map of the challenges that were waiting for them. The maze would take over an hour to penetrate, and by then Alice hoped the other objectives would be held. They would have to move quickly once inside the castle walls to get their objective. Fiora and her men would break open the gates and lure the inquisitorial main forces out onto the streets where they could begin to engage them in the open. Alice sent a silent prayer the young girl’s way. She’d need it.

  The first bout of gunfire came courtesy of the benevolent weapons of Two-Guns. Bryant sprayed down a beast that they had prepared for, that hadn’t prepared for them. The thing resembled a full-grown grizzly bear and had metallic claws that looked ready to tear Bryant apart. Only Bryant was quicker and two loads of slugs were spilled graciously into the creature’s gut. Blood and intestines along with a gross black liquid poured out of its hide as it was unceremoniously ripped in half by the onslaught. Bryant spit on the ground and reloaded, Mayberry’s shot gun rising up to cover him. Alice checked the map and kicked on her servos to rush forward. The hallways were lit by mock torches and so narrow only two could pass side by side, and nobody over ten feet tall could fit through the damp stone-work. Alice kicked off of a wall and leapt over a stone that transformed itself into razor sharp spikes as she passed. She slid down the wall and kicked off another one, this time to watch a retort of arrows pour forth. Another tripwire wrapped around her wrists as she somersaulted and pushed off the ground with her hands. The pulling of the tripwire created an ancient axe ripping up from the ground followed by a bout of flames. Alice landed with Olympic style onto a platform some twenty feet down the hall, the traps all triggered.

  Her crew made their way after her, marveling at her tremendous acrobatic skill. It took Sarah’s watchful eye to notice that there were in fact several branching hallways on the way down that held different forms of monstrosities. A couple was large rodents and others were mangled humanoids with large medieval weapons. The only thing they all had in common was bursts of laser fire had cut them down, laser fire that Alice had unleashed so quickly none of them had even noticed. If they weren’t impressed from the stories they’d heard about the woman before, they were getting there now. Alice gestured for them to join her on the landing. They formed up around her and leveled their weapons around to make sure they couldn’t get surrounded by any surprise guests. It was bad enough that the terrain was a dangerous enemy not to be trusted.

  “You a dancer err sumthin?” Bryant said, checking his ammo levels on his gun like a nervous habit.

  Alice had an empty smile to answer him with before motioning the team forward. This was where it would get tricky, there were traps all over the halls but the difficulty would be the amount of enemies that littered the hallways. The Demon had a penchant for corrupting natural life, bears with metal arms, birds that spit balls of plasma, and rats with humanoid bodies. If the rest of the teams did their jobs then they wouldn’t have to complicate the fight by adding guns to the mix. Most of the Demon’s victims were unarmed when they were released into the innards of the dungeon so fighting back was very rare.

  “Come on guys, let’s get moving.” Sarah said, bringing the group up behind Alice.

  Hero’s squad touched ground in the middle of a crowded business district, the power plant not too far from their location. He thumbed the controls to the outside cameras and watched as a few of the local law enforcement officers drew weapons, most started ushering the public out of the area. To most of the citizens what was occurring was not even a possibility. They had never assumed that they could be under siege, in all the time the Dungeon had existed an invasion had never happened. The officers who had drawn guns had done so out of panic, the rushing impact of the drop pod had scattered most of the people out of the way.

  A few of the officers open fired, their shots ringing useless against the reinforced armor of the pods. Hero’s thumb lined up the shots and he dispatched the officers with carefully aimed shots. He hadn’t wanted to kill them but they had lacked the foresight to make the weapons non-lethal. With slight regret, he thumbed the controls carefully and knocked a few of the officers into the dirt never to stand again. He let out a sigh and used his other hand to flip the door controls, a rush of air escaping as the steel plates lifted up. His fire team rushed outwards from each side of the container and leveled their weapons. The crowd had fled and none of the officers remained in the area, either dead or running with panic. It would only be a matter of time before they regrouped and brought out the heavier guns. Of course Hero wondered if they’d have to deal with any inquisitors, having read the reports Project had given him on the subject. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up, fear gripping him and laughing in his ear. He’d cross that bridge when he got to it, if he got to it. Godspeed Alice, he thought to himself as his team moved through the dusty roads and tightly shut buildings.

  “Project, status.” Hero said in his mic,

  “All other teams are green, distress seems at minimum. We were successful at catching them with their pants down, so to speak. We are prepping Alice’s team for drop off now.” Project said.

  “Good, keep me updated.” Hero said before directing his team behind a tall, wooden building. He’d never seen a building like that before, at least outside of an ancient painting. It was white and reached towards the heavens complete with a bell tower. He supposed that it must be modeled after old Earth churches. He looked over at his heavy weapons specialist- a woman named Meagen who was built like a power-loader- and nodded, motioning to the tower. She responded with a grunt and shouldered the heavy looking tube she held in her hands, replacing it with a small slug-throwing pistol. It was a high-powered pistol to be certain, but it looked impossibly tiny in her huge hands. She kicked open the door to the church, found now resistance made her way to the bell-tower. He motioned for the rest of team forward. He lifted his new rifle up as they crept along the dirt streets, sweeping left and right for a target. He thought he loved his old rifle, but as soon as he’d been given this one he never even thought about the old one. He had customized it less than his other one because it needed less modification, but it was a beauty.

  Saber was the name he gave for it. Sure he couldn’t use a sword like a Paladin could, but he could still use a saber. He laughed internally at his own joke. His remaining four members followed his sweeping motion in different directions, covering all angles like they intended. Every squad had a heavy weapons e
xpert, a technician, a medic, and another profession to make up for what they needed. In Hero’s case they had given him a master pilot. He didn’t like that part of the plan, but it made complete sense. They were going to launch his pod back into space first, only none of them were going to be on it. They needed to test and make sure they could out without being obliterated into dust, so to do that they were going to have to commandeer a vehicle to escape with. The power plant was rumored to have a basic transport ship for delivering waste materials to other stations, and that was going to be their ticket out of there.

  A screeching sound caused his whole team to drop down back-to-back and scan the area.

  “From above!” Meagan shouted through the comm, in time for Hero to glance upwards. His shots rang out across the empty streets as the slugs connected with the armored plating of something incredible and huge. Materializing out of nowhere, the Inquisitor landed next to the group raising its cannon outwards and spraying bright blue death from the nozzle. Hero’s technician didn’t have a chance to scream before he was immolated in the azure flames his lungs incinerating like rice paper to a candle. The rest of the team spread out as quickly as possible. Hero squeezed the trigger and roared in rage as slug after slug sought vengeance for the untimely death of his squad-mate. He was in command here, and he was pissed. How could that creature have snuck up on them like that, out of nowhere?

  Garth-the pilot- rolled out of the way and held his own rifle upwards spitting fire and metal at the creature. The creature took the shots from both of the men and let out a sound that reminded Hero of a screeching tire once more. The medic and the technician watched on with horror, having too little combat experience between them to gather the nerves to fire their guns. In a gut-wrenching moment the creature dashed forward and swung its lantern, the angry crimson glow catching the technician in the chest. The man burst into flames as his chest caved and scorched, dissolving bone into ashes even as he tried to scream.