Rebirth (Rebel Wars Book 2) Read online

  The strength of the fist that hit her was immaculate and stunning, even to a mechanical creature such as her. The meaty flesh thumped against her chest with a disgusting sound of bones breaking from the density of her metallic armor. It knocked her back and she rolled to her hands and sprang back to her feet. The creature stood before her, a small female creature with dark flesh and bright eyes. She offered no smile, but exposed her shock white teeth to Alice. The woman could almost pass for human, but there was more to her as if something was living just beneath her skin and was struggling to be released. Her arms were tucked behind her back and the woman stood with her feet apart, struggling to find Alice’s face. When the woman lunged forward her legs stretched to impossible lengths and carried the small frame of the woman forward like a catapult, a gigantic fist appearing from behind her back and threatening to crush the mechanical woman. She tried to dodge, but the fist’s size and speed was too much even for her technologically advanced body and she fell victim to another of the earthshattering fists.

  The blow through Alice straight back into her perching tree and shattered the bark, knocking the tree over with a thunderous crack. Alice struggle to stand, her circuits and alarms screaming damage to her mind. She found her ground and saw the woman standing in front of her as she was before, arms behind her back and feet planted on the ground. This time the woman was smiling, as if she didn’t expect for Alice to recover from the first two blows and felt challenged by the arrival of a woman who could be as strong as her. Alice couldn’t find the motivation to strike against the woman, fear and anger were no longer solid factors in her life and she knew the woman couldn’t be Corporation. Her body was damaged but not severely enough that she wouldn’t be able to recover without the assistance of a laboratory but another series of blows like that would break her apart. Alice dropped to her knees in the signs of submission, the woman lunged forward and raised her small hands to the sky as they morphed into cannonballs of meat and flesh. Alice was certain the bones had been crushed, but somehow they had either mended or the woman simply didn’t care. She braced for impact when a whistle cut through the air and the woman’s fist stopped just shy of Alice. The woman returned to her normal posture with no motion that Alice could track and turned her back to the drone-woman. Alice stood up and chased after her, finding the source of the whistle.

  A much lighter skinned man stood near the entrance of her squad’s building, several other men and women of their kind surrounding the area. Four large reptilian beasts and an even bigger mammal carried men and weapons on their backs. In the hands of the men were primitive appearing blaster weapons, blasters that were less focused heat and light and more uncontrolled plasma. The weapons were dangerous to both attacker and defender, and humans had stopped using the weapons decades ago. It made sense to Alice, that a race without space travel possessed both antique weaponry and the most advanced ability of gene manipulation. They had given up one pursuit for the other and had now found themselves wishing they could gain more of one than the other. The group had dragged her squad out from the building and had them seated in a circle before one of the reptiles. They were not bound and had drinks and food in their hands. Alice wondered how all of this could have happened in the short period of time when Sgt. Masters stood up and waved her over.

  “Alice! Stand down! These are friends. These are the Cydrakians! Though, I have to say leaving us for a couple of hours while on watch was not very cool of you.” He said as he approached her and took a sip of his hot drink.

  “I wasn’t gone hours Sgt. Masters. Please don’t be so dramatic, a couple of minutes at best.” She said, the woman who had beaten her stood off to the side and was replaced the young man who had whistled. Masters appeared as if he was going to say something and gave her a quizzical glance, but the other man interrupted.

  “Alice, it is a pleasure to meet you. I am sorry for Angala’s attack, she was asked to keep guard and we were not quite sure what it is we were waiting on. Your friend here described you, but we have never seen a being of metal before and wasn’t certain what it was we’d seen.” The man gestured towards Angala who bowed in apology. “She is mute. I am the speaker of the warband, and my name is Creel’all. I was sent to investigate the disturbance, but brought my group here to rest on our way. We moved much slower than we thought and got caught here during the change-time.” He said, his language was slow but easy to comprehend though Alice wasn’t sure what he meant.

  “Change Time?” She asked.

  “He means night time ma’am. Apparently during the change from light to dark as they describe it, the planet changes too. There’s a central group of the tribe’s elders that can manipulate the landscape. They utilize some odd technology that reminds me of the old stories of magic, if we’re honest. We had some similar technology on Mars to make the landscape more hospitable, but nothing quite like this. They add more defensible positions and create new life and harvest more materials. It’s quite amazing if you ask me. And what’s more, these guys aren’t even all flesh!” he said with bewilderment in his eyes.

  “I forgot to brief you. Yes they are considered metaphysical beings who can inhabit corporeal forms. I wasn’t aware of it entirely until I browsed some more of the stolen data.” She said.

  “Yes we walk in spirit.” The Creel’all stated.

  “How do you do that?” Alice said, and the man gave her a dismissive shrug. She supposed he wouldn’t be able to answer that any easier than Alice could answer why they existed how they did. They were a different species that existed as forms of intelligent energy that could inhabit flesh forms. Forms they were born with she had found out that changed and altered as they grew, and if it died they could form new ones out of the organic components around them. Such a power was marvelous and Alice replayed the skirmish she’d had with the mute Angala and was stunned by the efficiency of the woman’s ability to transform at the right moments. “But tell me this: why do you think I was gone hours? My chronometers are not off, and I was only gone a few minutes. It was barely any time at all.”

  “Time moves differently here as well, Alice.” Creel stated as if discussing the rain. “Come, we must rest for the night and in the morning we will take you back to the Tempal, the holy land. The sinners are already trying to already trying to break Sudal, another one of our holy lands. We must speak with the elders there. Your friends have told me that you are here to help and you wish to defeat the sinners- Corporation as you call them- and they will have much to discuss with you.” His pronunciation of Corporation was perfect, a little too perfect and Alice supposed they had spent time learning the word from the Martians.

  “Yes, we would very much like to meet with them. We have come to ask for your help, and to provide help of our own. I think working together we can accomplish much.” Alice stated.

  “I agree. Let us rest now and in the new day we shall walk as one.” The man said and beckoned Alice over to the group. She had no need to eat or drink or even sit, but she sat down near them and started to converse. It felt strange to see such creatures, so like men and yet so different, and the information they exchanged felt light-hearted and fun for such a dire situation. She hadn’t felt this human in a long time and though her processors may tell her she wasn’t, she couldn’t help but feel like one of them. They regarded her strangely at first, not used to a woman made of metal but they all agreed that she had the same “spirit” they did. In their words spirit was a simplification for their metaphysical sides when free of a corporeal form. She started to wonder if humans could do the same thing and maybe they’d never learned to control it, or maybe it was a gift they had yet to embrace. The night passed and the world changed and renewed, and the sun rose as promised.

  Alice had found a way to dim her sensors and pass the time easier, even if it wasn’t technically considered sleep. She let the minutes slip into hours and vanish entirely while she waited for the rest of her team to get their sleep. There weren’t many Cydrakians here, but mo
re than enough to keep the illusion of safety and strength in numbers. She had come to the conclusion that even one Cydrakian warrior was enough to improve her team’s efficiency in combat and she had a feeling that she’d only seen the tip of the spear. She was impressed and content that the mission was going better than she’d thought after the crash landing. Lisa was excited and talking non-stop, recording strings of new words and data in her wrist-computer as they made their way down the side of the mountain. The group’s pace was quick and careful, something that amazed Alice for their size.

  The monsters they rode with carried the burden of their equipment and offered tired members of the group a surface to rest on without sacrificing speed or time. Alice cataloged the differences between them and learned which ones hunted, and which ones grazed. The size of the beasts were modified, or so she’d learned from the Cydrakians. They told her that these creatures were once no bigger than a hand and now they were twice a man, which changed their nature somewhat due to their size but the Cydrakians were masters of animal communication. They understood the intelligence like a language and spoke it carefully back to get the animals to obey them, especially the ones that could swallow them whole. They were a hard people and had endured much in their short time of existence. Their planet was less than a million years old and their species much younger than that. They had scientists who studied the arts of manipulative technology and had built for themselves a world that protected them and they protected in turn. They used very little of the planet’s minerals and only took from the soil if they needed to.

  They had little need for sprawling structures as they had not yet filled the planet with their population and before the Corporation came they only had a few cities and dwellings. Alice asked them what it was like to never die and she was soon enlightened. She wasn’t able to understand it as soon as it was explained, but she managed to make sense of the process as they travelled. It seemed that when their bodies expired, their metaphysical form left and existed as a signature of cohesive energy. The energy was sentient and could communicate in fashion similar to telepathy, which meant she would be unable to speak with the metaphysicals if what she believed held true. When in metaphysical form it was only a matter of time before they would begin to dissipate and over a year’s time if they had not formed a new physical body they would be ultimately dispersed throughout the planet’s living. Every time they formed a new body they gave up some of that energy that held them together, and thus their life span was heavily impacted by the ongoing invasion of their planet. As they died, they struggled to reproduce the same numbers and they were already a fledgling race. They possessed great mental acuity and a passion for survival and growth, but they were limited by their lack of natural resources to create and even envision things like space travel and advanced weapons.

  They told the group that they were being taken to Tempal, which was one of two holy grounds. The grounds were considered holy due to the nature of the energy there. It was like a magnet that drew the spiritual forms of the Cydrakians there to rest and gather strength to create new forms. There was a wealth of biological and organic matter in the dense forests that surrounded the holy grounds and gave them nourishment for the task ahead of them. She was fascinated by this and asked how they could manipulate DNA in the matter they did. They didn’t understand her and after much discussion and hours passed, the plains gave way to a forest thick with greenery. She was in the process of rephrasing the question after understanding the proper terminology when Lisa cried out. Alice stopped and ran to her friend’s side, to see that she was only gasping from the sight before her. It surprised Alice, but she did not cry out. Great statues of ivory and white stone stretched to the ceiling of the forest and pillars of light shined down on the structure. It was open and had pillars surrounding it that provided support for the forest itself, or so it seemed. The architecture reminded her of the ancient Greek structures of Earth, back in the days when humans weren’t even aware the Earth rotated the sun.

  There were groups of Cydrakians in the bowels of the forest, running and playing and fighting and training. The grounds were what remained of civilization on this world, a world deeply scarred and broken by the threat of the ongoing invasion. There were children here, men, and women, elderly and even gentle beasts. This was a sanctuary and the columns provided shelter when they needed it, a technology they said was lost to them. They knew that when night came the structures lit up and shielded them from the cold and from the weather. Alice knew Lisa was excited to explore and discover more about these ancient ruins and these pre-modern people, she was excited to help them learn the new natures of the universe. Alice’s steps crushed plants beneath her as she made her heavy way through the path and into the throng of people that had gathered for their arrival. Veils of flowers were wrapped around all of their necks, and smiles greeted them. Some of the Cydrakians were clad in dark skin and others in white and other various shades, a melting pot of diversity but they had no words for their differences Alice had discovered with delight. Such a young race, and yet they didn’t care about the differences and only what made them one people. This gave her hope that they had made the right choice in allies, and they would soon fight together to destroy those that would imprison them.

  Most of the Cydrakians were clad in loose garments that covered little flesh but gave them some measure of modesty, the woman who emerged from the largest group of columns was wearing nothing to cover her skin. She was tan and beautiful, taller than most of the others and not ashamed to bare her flesh. She was voluptuous and soft, though had features of muscle and strength just behind the occasional pudge of thicker fat. She walked over to the group and lowered her head, raising it and smiling at the group looking from face to face. The Martian men looked away, returning their gazes at the reassurance of the Cydrakian’s who escorted them. The woman’s hair was an ethereal crimson and fiery red, like a bolt of flame thrown to the wind and floating for eternity. Her features were graceful and motherly, and her voice deep and soulful.

  “Welcome to what remains of our world, outsiders. I have been told by our scouts that you have come in peace, and seek to speak with us?” She said. “I am Briannal, I am the Tempal’s protector and her mother. I see that all life is replenished and renewed, and I oversee the elder changers who shape the world during the change-time.” She said, gesturing to a table laden with fruits and meats. “Please, come and join us. We have much to discuss, and you must be hungry from your journey.”

  Alice’s group didn’t say much other than muttered thanks as they followed her to the table. It looked like a celebratory feast and not much of a war council’s table, but that is what they were wasn’t it? They were there to discuss the acts of offense and defense and to better prepare for a day of killing. Alice asked knew they didn’t have much time for resting as the other side of the forest from them, the other holy ground, was under attack by a growing Corporation force and it wouldn’t be long before they broke through. She kneeled next to the matriarch and held her metal hand out for the woman to hold. She touched it, and looked at Alice with an odd look in her eyes.

  “You are not right, your soul…” she said, reaching out and touching Alice’s head. She caressed the metal and closed her eyes, humming to herself a soft and haunting tune. “Your soul is trapped within this cage. You poor soul…how did this happen?” Alice explained to her what had occurred, and how she existed now as what remained of the true Alice, a dead woman and a metal shell. She shared with her the assassination and the way that Andreya had shifted her mind to this drone body, and though the woman had never seen a form of metal she nodded with understanding.

  “You know of this kind of technology?” Alice asked.

  “Not really, but I think I can grasp it. You are not meant for the metaphysical, your kind do not know how to exist outside of flesh and blood. And yet, you attempted it and found this doll to inhabit. It’s fascinating, Alice. But I can feel your soul crying out, your energy of mind a
nd everything you feel. You are trapped and need to be freed, or you will lose yourself.” She said, her gaze and tone of kindness and sorrow but not of pity. Lisa and the soldiers were busy consuming the food given to them and checking over their gear, while talking with the natives. Alice and the matriarch seemed in their own world, far away from the others.

  “How…how can you feel it? I have no soul, I am just electricity.” She said, summing it up the best she could.

  “Words are words Alice. The concept is how we learn to speak with other races, and though your language is not far from ours you are not the first foreign language we’ve communicated with. We have come together because we speak with intent and bare away falsehoods. Don’t confuse what I say with your concept of the word, simply understand.” She responded with a patient smile.

  “I…I understand. What makes me…me, doesn’t belong in this form?” She said.

  “Exactly. And I can free you from that prison.” She said, placing her hands now on Alice’s shoulders. All at once Alice felt a rush of energy enter her form and send her systems into a sudden panic.

  “STOP” Alice shouted, the clack of weapons being drawn in reaction. All of the barrels were now focusing on the matriarch and the drone, the natives drawing weapons and growing claws. The air that was so light and full of joy had turned dark and tense. The matriarch raised her hand, and as if commanded by words that were never said the entire group dropped weapons and turned back to their meals as if nothing at all had happened.

  “Stay calm Alice. I was only looking.” Briannal said.

  “But it hurt…I mean…hurt is the concept.” Alice said, starting to understand their way of speaking better.