Rebellion (Rebel Wars Book 1) Read online

  Alice swept through the military like a ravaging wind, ripping armor plates and crushing steel beneath boots and fist. There was nothing that could stand up to her new form, or so she thought, as she threw a soldier so hard against a vehicle that it flipped over on its side. She was a nightmare to behold, and the paladins weren’t any more pleasant to watch. Plasma and slugs screamed through the air, impacting Alice’s body and knocking her down for but a mere second as she recovered. Fiora kicked off of Alice’s back and let loose an angry burst of electromagnetic storm rounds, downing no less than twenty of the Corporation’s men in a single burst.

  Within minutes, the small guard force had been dealt with. Alice took a moment to recharge her systems and rid herself of a few of the slugs that had embedded themselves in her armor. Fiora had taken a rather vicious spray of blood across her face, giving her the appearance of a grin. The Paladin was resting on her knees, taking a moment to combat the slow-creep of fatigue. Her armor prevented her from exhausting herself too quickly but it was only a band-aid to the true problem of being a mortal.

  “Alice.” Fiora said, looking to where Alice’s eyes should have been but seeing only blank metal. Andreya hadn’t bothered with any facial features as tiny cameras throughout Alice’s body created the only picture she would need to create “vision”.

  “Fiora.” Alice said

  “Do you think Cal would be proud of me?” Fiora said

  “He never loved you, you had to know that right?” Alice said

  “I know. But…he’d be proud?” Fiora asked, the hope diminishing in her voice. Alice had lost any real concern with sparing the feelings of her friends, if they were still friends anymore. Alice tried to process what it meant to proud and couldn’t really reason with herself any factual data pointing to that conclusion.

  “I don’t think so. Cal was never really the proud kind. I think a better word would be appreciative.”

  “What?”

  “You know, appreciative. You picked up the mantle that he dropped despite everything else, and you fight on in his place. I think he’d be happy and appreciative to know that.” Alice stated, standing up and drawing her own swords. She’d grown bored with the calculations needed for firing solutions. She didn’t wait for Fiora’s response, knowing that she was probably pleased with the answer. Alice could show empathy sometimes, even if it was difficult to do.

  The Paladin team and Alice made their way to the guard base and transmitted the codes that would fool the defensive arrays into thinking they were cleared to enter. It was an easy trip from there, dropping the swords and armor into their bags and cloaking themselves in fancy clothing and accessories. Alice wore a veil that would prevent questions and wrapped her metallic skin in the crimson dress of a Corporation elitist. The others could only pass as human, and that was fine by them. They didn’t want for even a moment to be considered Corporation scum. The hatred was deeply implanted in their hearts with every rebellion death they witnessed. The Paladins couldn’t have been a less forgiving crew.

  The installation provided them with an underground train to take them to the capital building for the ceremony. Their majesties’ honored guests. The badges stated when printed off and handed to each one of them. The guard that handed Alice hers looked wearily as she took it from him, but if he had suspicions he didn’t voice them. The facility was a sweet blue color and held every type of equipment for warfare that anyone could imagine. Suits and apparatuses, portable computers, high-powered weaponry and even mobile armored vehicles. They boarded the train which hummed along the rail with very little in the way sound. It sped quickly beneath the surface of Gaia, undetected to anyone that cared to look. Everyone on alert had their eyes turned to the skies, watching for warships or any other threat. Ironically, they’d missed the first threat from the sky that had deposited the danger firmly on the ground.

  Her crew went over their gear and made sure they had succeeded in hiding it in the bags provided to them. These bags were designed to fool all security measures the Corporation could dream up, though it wasn’t going to be an issue with the clearance codes they wore on their necks or chests. Alice glanced over at Fiora, who was deep in thought as if dreaming. The other three Paladins were less jovial now and focused intently on their missions. They were good men and Alice was tired of good men dying, the ratio for just and unjust deaths was skewed in the wrong direction. Alice processed the list in her memory of potential targets that would be present at the ceremony. High-ranking officials were limited, the newly crowned Demon Ory would be the highest rank there. Sun Fal was simply a mouth piece and though her death satisfied the Demon, it didn’t serve Alice any purpose. She was intent on her original plan despite the deal she had made. It had to be this way.

  The train rolled to a stop, letting Alice and the Paladins off into an empty station beneath the capital. The trek up the steps and through initial security went by without so much as a mention of needed to check their gear. The badges really had made everything that much easier, and she was glad to have not had to blast their way through entire security teams, which would make their arrival anticipated and they may have cut off the broadcast. Fiora broke off with her team to flank the ceremony hall where hundreds had already gathered. They moved with precision to plant themselves in spots around the halls, ready to act. Alice made her way behind the stage, leaning up against the organic wood walls to rest. Rest was more of a habit than anything else at this point, it served her mechanical joints no purpose and didn’t give her batteries anymore of a break than moving did. She could conserve energy by not engaging enemies or when she did by dispatching them quickly. The faster she killed the faster she recovered and the less risk she put herself. Alice had no eyes to close so instead she shut off the cameras and reflected inwards.

  The speeches were fanatically written and littered with emotional programming to spur the rebellious to surrender and the loyal to take up arms. Sun Fal spoke like a true zealot and bullied anyone that tried to stuff their opinion down her throat. She would have made a hell of a politician, Alice analyzed. Sun Fal gave the stage over to someone else, a Commander Urset. He was not a sector commander like Demon, but rather a commander of the planet Gaia. It was his authority to strip Demon and rename Ory’ as such. His mouth opened and he began the long process of announcing the points of power and bloodline that made up the Corporation hierarchy. Her attention span was infinite but even she didn’t want to hear it. She stepped to the side of the room, where a group of servers were gossiping about the elitist Corporation snobs here, she would have smiled realizing they were all humans. They started talking in whispers about how the rebellion was getting stronger and would one day free them. One of the humans- Charlie- whispered to –Anna- about how he doubted it would ever happen. Anna was hopeful if not saddened by the lack of faith Charlie had in the rebellion.

  Alice approached the servants and hid her face behind her veil.

  “You know, the rebellion hasn’t forgotten about you.”

  “How do you know?” Exclaimed Charlie.

  “Because I am the rebellion.” Alice said

  “Seriously?” Anna said in excitement.

  “Yes, and I need you guys to listen. Gather every human you see and convince them to leave. If they won’t leave, then leave them. But you must vacate the building in five minutes.” Alice’s tone was as gentle as she could program it to be.

  The humans said their thanks and left, though Charlie still seemed to be skeptical of Alice’s proclamation. Five minutes passed as the Gaia commander continued his speech with no interest in the entertainment or willpower of his guests. The entire audience seemed to be fighting sleep against his boisterous and elongated titles and phrases. Alice spotted the Demon from her hiding space, his hands cuffed behind his back and his head hung low. He looked like the very personification of disgrace and Alice would have felt bad for him if she could have. As the speech neared an ending, they unshackled the Demon and let him approach the stand.<
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  He looked tired and unnaturally aged, a result of the crushing of one’s pride Alice figured. She slid out from behind the curtain and grabbed him behind the neck. The crowd gasped in surprised as Alice drew a blade from the sheath on her side and penetrated the Demon’s chest. Air hissed out of the wound, her other arm throwing bolts through the air and neutralizing the guards that rushed the stage.

  “Al….ice…you said we had…deal” the Demon managed to utter through the steel in his chest.

  “Don’t worry about that now.” Alice said, freeing her blade from his ribcage and throwing the metal blade across the stage to pin Sun Fal against the wall, the blade cutting fabric and bone to sink into the wooden surface. The remaining commanders fumbled with their weapons, being in ceremonial dress they had not prepared for such a firefight. Two bolts struck each one of them in the chest and burned through their hearts, leaving a panicked crowd and Alice. The cameras never stopped filming as she slaughtered the command staff. The Paladins pushed through the crowd and took control of the media, holding the filming equipment steady and shining the lights on Alice.

  “Listen now.” Alice hissed through the communicators.

  “The Rebellion is not a boogie-man. We are not a deadly wish or a prophesied calamity, we are a true and powerful force! We will not allow the Corporation or anyone else to continue to hold our reins and control our destiny. We are our own masters, and this is an act of war!” Alice finished her speech and slammed a foot into the ground. The Paladins shut-down the cameras and Gaia went dark to the rest of the universe.

  Chapter 21

  President Robert Tate viewed his incoming messages and allowed Project to send the same replies to all of them. He had dropped the Councilman title, it was obsolete since there was no longer a council and he’d held on to the name for far too long. He’d entertained the idea of King or Emperor, but felt them archaic and arrogant. Old America on ancient Earth had done well with the title of President, so he felt it was only fair to adopt the name once more. Alice’s broadcast had reached millions of surviving potential rebel colonies and had been more effective in recruiting than ten years of guerilla warfare had ever been. In exchange for fealty, he’d allow as much of mankind to join him as he could. Corporation commanders were still waving off the shock off the live execution and their responses were scattered.

  The panic that Alice had caused had opened the gateway for war and unification and Robert felt capable of leading both. He sent diplomats out to several of the planets and automated responses to others. He would have an active and powerful army in months and be able to set into motion a true plan for freeing themselves from the rule of the alien Corporation. He wouldn’t have to deal with subtle missions and could focus on supply lines, colonies, and capturing resource rich planets and colonies. How happy he should have been, but misery was the only emotion he could pinpoint. He was tired, and he was aging as all mortals do. He was hoping he’d been able to sneak away into retirement and let some young and rising star take care of the actual war. Now was not the time to promote such a person or even take the time to discover them. For now, he would lead and he would lead well, it was in his blood.

  His arthritic fingers could still snap loud enough to subdue wild beasts and rogue council members. His closet was filled with skeletons of those who’d tried to unseat him before and it was no different if he tried to unseat himself. He took the whisky he hated and chugged the glass, throwing it to the ground and rejoicing in the shards of broken glass. He forcefully opened the chamber and stepped out into the fresh air of the Tower. The balcony before him opened up his view to the many levels of the Tower, from the metropolis levels of the market to the industrial bays. He was proud of what he had built and he wasn’t going to let someone else with no investment take it over. That wasn’t how he was taught, nor how he’d ever been.

  He heard chatter on the communicators about the extraction of Alice and the Paladins, how nobody had been able to muster a force strong enough to take them down in the wake of the executions. He was proud of her despite his reservations at moving her from a body to that of a sentient drone. The laws be damned he was told by Master Tillman when he confronted him about what his daughters had planned. He had considered snapping his fingers there and forcing the Master to kill himself, though the reasonable part of his brain stopped the angry part of him from doing something he knew he’d regret later. He would need the Birthplace forge operating at full capacity and that meant every Tillman and even Project would be needed. The air was fresher here than the stale wind of his office and he inhaled it deeply as if tasting it for the first time. It was a new era and all of the data that Project had given him pointed to the beginning of the dreaded Calamity. He wondered if they would be able to survive if it was true. If it had been true they were on the wrong side fighting the Corporation, but what did that matter now?

  “Sir, I have an incoming transmission from Alice.” A female voice interrupted his thoughts. Carla had crept up next to him, a young blonde receptionist. She was very pretty and had a figure that made most men contemplate the benefits of fatherhood if they could only bed her for a night. He hadn’t hired her for that reason. He was a practical man and her intellect and discretion had stood her out from the other candidates. The eye-candy was just a bonus even to an old man like him. Robert nodded, and took the communicator from her hands.

  “Alice my girl! Where are you?”

  “I am aboard a capital ship. We suffered zero casualties and are returning now.”

  “So what can I do for you?” Robert said.

  “The Calamity. I think it’s real.” Alice said.

  “This is news to me.”

  “The data, you’ve reviewed it?”

  “Of course. And I see the conclusion that Project came to. Is that what you’re discussing?”

  “Not exactly Councilman. I was thinking that the first part of the Calamity was a tremendous amount of devastation to a few outlying colonies and planets.” Alice said with tension in her voice.

  “President. And yes, what of it?”

  “That’s the best way to light this war off. And I think I know how to do it and play into their fears. I spoke with Project. I don’t think they received a radio signal from the future. I think it’s like all prophecies and can be made to be self-fulfilling.”

  “So you want to use the Calamity to confuse them and damage their morale?” Robert said with approval.

  “I think so. I’m heading back now and we’ll discuss it then. But I’m going to need something from you Cou-President.”

  “Anything.” He said

  “I need you to step down.” Alice said

  “No.” He didn’t bother arguing with her. He severed the link and handed the device back to Carla. He dismissed her with a wave that meant “don’t answer her again.” And looked back over all he created. Why would Alice request such a thing? Her mind was different now he supposed, and this was probably just part of that separation from her body. It was unfortunate, he hated to think how many resources and lives it would require to bring her down. He hoped there would be another way, if not then it was going to be a bloodbath at his front door. He hated mopping those up.

  Alice hung up the line and glanced over Fiora and the rest of their remaining squad. The captain of the capital ship gave her a sideways glance.

  “So you think he’s gone power drunk?” the youth asked. His name was Phillip West and had aged no more than 25 years. Alice gave him a subtle nod and the captain stretched his arms over his head.

  “So what, you want to go back to the tower and assassinate him too?” He said with disbelief.

  “No, I don’t think that’s necessary. However Phillip, I think it’s a good idea to prepare for the possibility of infighting. I’d like to add you to my fleet. I need a capital ship backing me up, and the ship needs its captain.” She said.

  “I can’t disobey him for now, so if you need something you’ll have to ask sparingly.” Ph
illip said.

  “Agreed. Thank you for your time.” Alice made her way out of the bridge with her men in toe, already securing the loyalty of Fiora and her small squad. It wasn’t much but it was a beginning that could lead to more. Having the potential support of a capital ship, her ship Stormbreaker and an elite unit like the Paladins would make everything a bit easier. The capital ship made its way through space and Alice sat in reflection over the past few months and what they had meant to her. She found herself thinking more and more of the men in her life and missing Alex and Cal more than ever. They could make sense of these things when she could not, and the kills were not satisfying enough to ease her pain at their loss. Her heart no longer thumped in her chest but the memory of the pain still echoed within her mind. She had hoped that executing the Demon would have made it dull but it hadn’t. The desire to spill more blood would never leave her like a permanent part of her mechanical body.

  Alice requested a view screen and watched as Gaia slipped into the distance quietly ignorant that Alice had even stepped foot upon her. Humans and Corporation alike would be forgotten by the giant planets like Gaia and their brief moments upon them wouldn’t matter in the end of things. Alice almost wished a Calamity or biblical end of days would happen, how long would she live like this and watch the world pass her by? Her strength would ebb and flow and wane eventually despite her current immortal state. Alice dived into the Library to pass the time and found the different marks the Demon had left about her. She corrected them and wrote an obituary for the Demon, mocking him into eternity. She uploaded the copy of the Library back to the Corporation headquarters, the subtle challenge to all of them.