Rebellion (Rebel Wars Book 1) Read online

  “Somebody do something!” He roared. The ship twisted in space and gathered speed, evading shots that were being hurled against them like stones on a witch in town square. Each shot tore a piece of his hull, and each shot started wearing his systems down. They’d sling-shotted a privateer capturing device at them, knocking them out of light-speed and setting them up for failure, but he’d show her. Communications were down, so he’d have to do this one on his own. He shoved one of the gunners out of the station and climbed into the chair. He thumbed over the controls, exhilaration washing over him as the individual magnetic cannon stretched out from the blade-like ship. The Lost Hope reached combat pacing and the pilot was working what felt like pure magic to the Demon.

  Their ship was much larger than the Stormbreaker but they had lost initiative, surprise, and first-blood to the rebellious ship assaulting them now. The Demon felt broken, like a dishonored knight whose foe couldn’t help but smother feces in his face after he’d lost the duel. He aimed the cannon with all of the years of practice and training he’d had, firing shot after shot along the predicted pathway of Alice’s ship. He would get her. He had to.

  Alice shouted for joy, her shot had been good. They’d snagged the enemy ship out of faster-than-light, disabled his sub-space communications and spread havoc across his hull. They were winning a near impossible fight, but Alice didn’t get cocky. She couldn’t afford to get cocky yet, if those other warships managed to turn around they’d be dead in space. Her combat pacing was much faster than her foe, who would have to counter-act his sudden stop. This gave her full advantage as she rained drone-led shot after shot. The hull was sealing every hole she punched into it, no matter how many times she struck it. She brought out both arms, her ship dipping and weaving through space and avoiding the returned fire from the enemy. They were starting to gain speed and Alice was quickly losing her advantage. She passed around the enemy, spraying it down with tiny rockets to break down the hull, but the self-healing ship quickly dispatched the damage she’d done.

  Her own ship took a solid hit in the cargo pay, breaking open the hull and causing her to lose pressure. Milly sealed the bulkheads, but they could only do that once. The other ship seemed to have no end to the amount of damage it could reseal, and even her biggest guns weren’t doing anything to alleviate the problem. She rotated back around for another run when an idea struck her. Re-sealing bulkheads meant stabilizing pressure. That meant, she wouldn’t need to do anything fancy to get a boarding team over there. She smirked.

  “Louis, can you rig me up a bomb-drone?”

  “Gimme five.” Louis said through the communication’s array. He was already down in the bay, doing something. Alice was just happy he hadn’t been sucked out from the last shot. She swept her ship long-side to minimize the cannon fire from the enemy. A cannon stretched out on a limb, like hers, and bore down upon her like a starving horse in a sea of grass. She wondered for a moment if the Demon himself was aiming that gun at her, the irony of their duel not lost on her. Steven had come into his own and was making the shots unpredictable and themselves an improbable target. The Demon’s pilot wasn’t far off from Steven, and the duel of wits and guns in space was more like a chaotic dance than Alice had first given it credit for.

  “Ready.” Louis barked

  “Put it in the drop pod. Milly give me a firing solution.” Alice said

  Milly flooded Alice with data and possible timings to accomplish what she wanted. She could have just put Project into the drop-pod, but it seemed they’d already taken Project from the other enemy ship and it was necessary to get out of here too soon to risk having to get him back. She could afford to lose a drop-pod. Steven lurched the ship in a wide-arc, taking it around in time to catch another shot across the side of the Stormbreaker, luckily the payload of that shot was too small to puncture the hull. Alice couldn’t risk them taking another shot that wasn’t so small.

  She flicked the switch and loaded the controls to the drop pod to her visors, Louis giving her the thumbs up. She hit the ignition and fired the drop straight at The Lost Hope but she needed to break through the hell again. The tentacle-like appendage of the right cannon lined up the shot and spat forth the boarding shot, crushing through the armor and holding it open for the few seconds it would take for the bulkheads to seal the wound. She hit the accelerator on the pod as hard as possible and watched it crash into the hole as the bulkheads sealed around it. She couldn’t have asked for a more perfect shot.

  “Disengage! Speed towards the capital ship now!” Alice said

  With a few presses of her terminal, she changed views to the drone aboard the enemy ship and lunged it forward. She could go up, she thought and straight into the command center. If she did that, she could kill the Demon right here and now and save herself a world of trouble later. She shook her head, no. He had to die the way she’d planned, publically and disgraced. She couldn’t it any other way, so she plunged the drone far back towards the engines and ignited Louis’s bomb. The miniature nuclear explosion ripped out the backside of the ship, disabling it as they launched into faster-than-light speed, trying to out-run the weight of her decision.

  Alice relaxed as she kicked off her individual controls and allowed everyone else to do their jobs. Milly put her arm on Alice’s shoulder and gave her that adorable smile of hers, always cheerful. Alice was hesitant to return the smile but did so in the practiced manner she had of reflecting Milly’s moods. Alice wanted to ask how things were going between her and Hero, though this wasn’t the right time. She had just put Hero in ridiculous amounts of danger and he had survived by the skin of his teeth. Michael had helped him through it, and Alice was determined to learn more about Michael in the coming days if she could. Why wait she said?

  “Hey Project, can you get Michael and Hero up to the bridge please?” She said, a couple of synchronized blinks on the communications panel telling her that the deed had been done. She leaned back and turned the stimulators in her suit on, massaging her weary flesh. She thought back at the battle with the inquisitors and how she’d given in to rage to tear them apart. The odd way they looked like humans stuff into suits too big and given extra limbs. She’d have loved for Milly to have seen them, on second thought she was grateful Milly hadn’t been there. She couldn’t lose her too.

  Chapter 17

  Project couldn’t quite reach the other partition aboard the capital ship yet, he was boosting his range as much as he could. He had absorbed the other partition from the warship and combined the data-pools, knowing now that killing Alice was not the best bet. He got a message, he hoped, to his other partition on the capital ship stating as much. They weren’t in range to receive a communication back unless that partition decided to put as much effort into doing so as he had. It wouldn’t matter really, in a few minutes they’d be upon each other if they kept moving at the same pace that they were. He was satisfied with himself. They had done a lot today and he was as keen as ever to letting the Calamity loose upon the Corporation if the data meant what he believed it to mean. Project had been wrong in many instances and learned from every single one of them. His ability to be correct was above average and he couldn’t see the data translating to mean anything else. If he had a real sense of humor, he may have found it funny, but he didn’t. He turned his attention to the bridge now and was about to tell Alice the results of the Library dig when he noticed he couldn’t.

  His communications had been interrupted and he could no longer reach the comlink, he hadn’t even noticed that he was locked out until now. He started to panic and look for the problem when he observed the cameras in the bridge and found the problem. Michael. He had convinced the man that Alice had to die in order to save the rebellion, and now he wasn’t able to deprogram the man quick enough to stop the events he’d set into motion. He watched, helplessly as the weapon he’d pointed towards Alice went off. Oh no.

  The acrid scent of pungent cigarette smoke filled the bridge, the doors latching shut. Alice tu
rned to see who had entered and her vision plunged into darkness. Her ears rang from the shot, the slug penetrating her jawline and throwing her to the ground. She struggled to speak but only blood left what remained of her lips. A scream from Milly, three more shots and she heard the youngest sister slump to the ground. She couldn’t see anything, her vision was black and swimming with red. Steven shouted, causing another volley of gunfire to echo throughout the bridge. Alice felt her heart slow and her breath run shallow as she lost consciousness.

  Hero moved as quickly as he could, shooting the frame with his high-powered rifle. The door caved and fell inwards, Michael turning the pistol towards Hero. Both men squeezed their weapons and sprayed blood, only Hero’s shots rang true and decapitated the would-be-savior of the rebellion. Michael’s shots sank into Hero’s abdomen, the soldier falling to the ground and pulling himself close to Milly who was barely breathing. Tears welled up in his eyes, blurring his vision of the woman he loved. He turned to see Alice bleeding out only a few feet from them, Steven’s corpse plastered in blood against the wall next to Michael’s. The bridge had become the scene of a martyrdom, of a blood-lusted zealot’s terrorist attack. Something had gone wrong here, and he’d not seen it coming in time to do anything about it. The view screen showed the capital ship approaching them, the guns on the ship were blazing white-hot as they powered up.

  Hero crawled to the terminal and with his limited knowledge saw the communications had been switched off. He desperately typed his codes into the machine, relieved when it released the communication block. His blood was running hot down his abdomen with fresh tears running tracts down his face. God don’t let her die.

  “Project…you’ve got to…” He said

  “I’ve got it. Stay with us Hero. I’m sorry.” Project said, and Hero had no idea what he meant. He crawled back, hot-irons worming their way inside his innards. He placed his hand on Milly’s and held her as he drifted into unconsciousness. He may have never earned the title Hero before, and he wasn’t certain he ever would. Michael had been ruthless, but the man had gotten him through the power plant alive and had helped him clear their objective when all seemed lost. They had mowed through over twenty men and three Corporation knights in their massacre at the power plant, yet they had lived. And now…now it would end like this.

  Chapter 18

  When Alice awoke, she felt nothing. Her heart wasn’t there, or at least she couldn’t feel it. She felt no anger, no sorrow, and no remorse. She couldn’t bring herself to feel anything at all. A solid block of ice had formed in her chest, and her breathing wasn’t her own. Machines were hooked up to every part of her body, keeping her alive. Her eyes moved from face to face, Andreya, Lisa, Councilman Tate, all three of them looked at her with concern and pity. She wanted to yell at them, to tell them not to pity her. She couldn’t move her mouth, wasn’t even sure she had a mouth still. The ice in her veins grabbed her conscious mind and pulled her back into the darkness. She didn’t dream at all and her last thoughts were on dying. Maybe now she could rejoin Alex, her husband’s face bright before swimming into the dark like the rest of her memories.

  Andreya fingered the controls with expert ease, ignoring the Councilman’s pleas for her to stop. She wasn’t interested in the discussion any more now than she had been when it first started. Lisa had obtained the proper signatures and thus no conversation with Robert was going to stop her from her mission. Milly lay in a hospital bed next to her would-be lover Hero and Steven would have to be buried in a closed casket. None of this sat well with her, though she knew if she’d been present she couldn’t have stopped it, nobody could have. She withdrew from the room, carrying the tablet with her and punching in her commands.

  “Andreya dammit! Listen to me, what’s done is done. Stop trying to play God!” He screamed, desperation defining his voice and his last few days of command. Certainly he wouldn’t be able to retain control of the Tower after this. It was going to look bad, because it had been bad. Andreya ignored him and stepped out of the room, locking the doors behind her. Alice’s body only had a few hours left, which meant she would have to finish her project before then. Every piece of programming and biological knowledge was summoned to the forefront of her thinking as she worked. She’d put this project aside to work on something else, hardly believing it would come to this so soon. Lisa had done all she could, now she needed to turn her attention to Milly and making sure the youngest sister survived the betrayal aboard the Stormbreaker. Andreya’s knowledge was better served in erasing the death of Alice and bringing her back stronger than ever. She knew now what she had to do, and she wasn’t stopping.

  Andreya hooked the visor to her eyes, entering into the digital space and commanding Alice’s sentience to do the same thing. It wasn’t easy drawing an unwilling human consciousness into a virtual world, but it had to be done. Andreya set-up a visually beautiful background, a rainforest complete with a waterfall. Something calming and natural to give Alice the sense that everything was okay. She confirmed with Project that the process was complete, and formed herself into her mental reflection. It was hard to draw an avatar that looked like a person without tapping into the memories of what that person believed they looked like. Andreya was as beautiful as always, wearing a white robe of silk and sandals. She smiled as the digital form of Alice started to form.

  Like Genesis, Andreya commanded there to be light and there was. Alice’s form lightened and before long the naked form of the woman stood before her. Breasts sagged lightly from age, muscles rippled from the efforts she’d given to strengthening her physical body and sad eyes peered up at her. Alice attempted to stand, falling backwards.

  “Don’t. Relax Alice. You’re…you’re alive. But this isn’t the real world.” Andreya said, sadness etching her voice. She wanted to tell her that everything would be ok, but it wouldn’t.

  “I feel cold.” Alice said, wrapping her arms over her naked form. In an instant clothes formed around her, though they weren’t physical and would only give the illusion of warmth. Perhaps Alice’s mind was strong enough to create the sensation to her physical form. The cold liquids she was bathed in wouldn’t allow too much warmth, but they were keeping her alive.

  “You will. You’re in a bath of antibiotics and preservatives. You were badly damaged.”

  “I know. That bastard…why? Why did he do it Andreya? He killed Milly…he killed me. Why would he do it? I’ve done nothing but for the rebellion. Was he Corporation?” Alice said, tears sliding down the digital recreation of her facial features.

  “No. He was one of us. He just…he was told something. Something he believed more than he believed anything else. It turned him into a monster. He’s dead now, Hero got him. But..Milly…milly will live.” Andreya said, offering a soft smile.

  “Yeah. But I won’t. This isn’t reality. This is…Project’s digital world, isn’t it?” Alice said. She’d known about digital worlds like this, a place to harbor the dying electrical energy of a human, to ease their mind into death. The procedure only happened when it was necessary to release something the mind held onto. Sometimes it was passwords or locations of important materials, other times it was intel that had to be extracted before the victim passed on. This time, Alice was uncertain why she had been brought here.

  “Yes, Alice. You’re here because I want to save your life.” Andreya said.

  “So do it already? Why do I have to be here?”

  “Because the life I want to give you isn’t the same as the life you had. I anticipated you dying soon, just not this soon. The project we’d been working on was to give you a second chance. We’ve created you a body similar to your own, but possessing none of your natural flesh and bones.”

  “You’re going to make me a drone? Isn’t that illegal?”

  “Not the way we’re doing it. The Councilman isn’t happy about it, but he can’t stop us.” Andreya said.

  “So what? You brought me here to ask my opinion? Just do it.” Alice said.
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br />   “It’s not that simple. See. You feel right now, don’t you?”

  “Yes. I’m sad…” Alice admitted

  “You should be. You witnessed betrayal, death of your husband, the attempted murder of your friends and you found out it was all due to a misunderstanding.” Andreya stated.

  “Don’t..rub it in…” Alice felt all of her barriers break and she flooded the digital world with her tears, burying her face into her chest.

  “Listen…Alice…it’s not like that. It’s just…to do what we have to do you have to realize that none of that will matter. You’ll be able to think and act, but you won’t feel. Not really. Your husband…his face won’t bring you anything. You won’t feel anger, and you won’t be able to empathize much with other humans.” Andreya said

  “So I’ll be a robot?” Alice said, sobbing uncontrollably now.

  “No. You’ll know what feelings are and you’ll even understand them a bit, but you won’t have the same perspective on things that you once did. The human body, the heart helps the mind process these emotions. It’s why a heartbreak can physically hurt and make you sick, or joy can make you feel like you’re floating. Without all of that, you’ll be a thinker and not a feeler. But…you’ll be alive.” Andreya said.

  “And what good will my life do? Why not just let me die here and now?”

  “Because the rebellion needs you. My father hasn’t been himself lately. He’s overwhelmed by trying to advance us, but the issue is that all intelligence shows the Corporation is just biding its time, waiting to destroy us. The Demon will not take his loss sitting down, and soon war will break out. We will need you Alice. And…Project believes the Calamity. It will come Alice, and you’ll bring it.”