Rebirth (Rebel Wars Book 2) Read online

  “Today was quite a mess, was it not?” She said, breaking the silence.

  “That it was my love, that it was. But all days are messier than before it seems.” He said.

  “Yes well, war is never clean. I’m ashamed of all the projects we have to put on hold to continue pumping out these warmachines, but I know they’re necessary.”

  “Necessary perhaps. I’d rather continue building projects that could make the inevitability of war not so…certain. But we’re no closer to that happening then when we started. Even the Library gave us more questions than it did answers, and now the President and Alice have some scheme to go to Cydrak and find even more questions to unlock! They don’t seem to understand that with science, the answer is never found, only a more concise question.” He said. He didn’t used to believe that way, he pondered over his tea. They sat in silence for a moment, reflecting on the last thing he said. He shook his head slightly, wondering when he’d came to that conclusion. So long ago they were finding answers faster than ever, but now everything they thought they knew was coming into question.

  There was the question of the Forge for sure, only he and a couple of others knew that they hadn’t actually discovered it in space. The tale was one that excited others and made them believe there were gods hidden within the stars, giving those gifts and making their blessings come true. Master had never come to the terms on whether or not he believed in actual gods, but he was certain he believed in the devil and all of the evil that came with him. That’s why he’d created the Forge, using a tiny bit of the most powerful information ever discovered. And even that had raised only questions, with every new technology or confirmed theory they longed for more answers. How much longer could they dig within the sub-space of reality and extract her secrets? When would they find the last bit of known knowledge and unravel the very fabric of space and time? He shook his head again, these thoughts were too heavy for tea.

  “Stop thinking about it darling. I know it’s been on your mind lately, with the new information on the Calamity from the Library. But you did what you had to do, to create something that would allow humanity progress. We were dying, and Earth wasn’t giving us any help. Without the Forge, colonies were going dark every month and terraforming efforts on planets were failing. It seems like I tell you this every other day, but the truth is: you saved humanity. And you can’t allow the possibility of total destruction to take that away from you. Even if we all die tomorrow, you kept us burning a little bit longer.” She said, placing a youthful hand on his. She hadn’t gone through the same procedures he had, she was naturally younger than him. A fact he was grateful for now as he squeezed her hand in response.

  “I know dear. Alice will be headed to Cydrak soon, to find some sort of new information on DNA manipulation. I’ve had Project prep a laboratory for Lisa to take with her on the trip. I know after what happened to Milly you’re not pleased with it, but I think Lisa will need to be there. After-all that body of Alice’s won’t be lasting much longer. I don’t know what to call that extra energy she’s producing and all of that siphoned data, but it’s going to corrupt the drone. If any planet harbors the secrets of creating true life, it will be Cydrak. And if Lisa can find a method to save Alice, then we’ll all be better off for it.” He said.

  “It’s a good plan. We didn’t create the sisters so they could sit idle.” She said, the words burning like fire when she said them. Neither one of them liked admitting that the girls were not made by entirely natural means, but grown from both of their DNA in an artificial womb. The process was necessary in order for them to actually be born, but the extra liberties they took with the girls had not been. It gave them better chances of survival by strengthening immune systems and creating massive potential within their intelligence levels, but it hadn’t been necessary. Master Tillman wasn’t sure what was necessary anymore, and he didn’t trust his judgement on the matter anyways.

  “Yes, but I’ve outfitted Lisa with a little bit of armor to protect her. I can’t stand the idea of losing one of them. Milly’s spine is at least half cybernetics at this point, and I won’t let Lisa get the same treatment. But…there isn’t anyone else as smart I can send. Andreya can’t handle the idea of gunshots and plasma being thrown her way. She’s become even more skittish after the attempt that hospitalized Milly.” He looked over to his wife, who nodded slowly in response. “But think about what we can accomplish if what the Corporation believes the Cydrakians can do is truth? Oh my. I think even the Forge’s creation will pale to this.” He smiled, knowing the greatest secret he could ever have would be the Forge and its creation; but he had hope he would out do himself one day.

  Dr. Tillman moved her hand from his and cupped her mug in her palms, drawing a swig from the tea within. She put the mug down, stood up and stretched her arms behind her back, bending over and stretching her other legs. She smiled at her husband and took the mug from his hands, placing it on the table beside them. She drew him up from the chair and embraced him, placing her plump lips against his thin ones. He wrapped her up in his arms and together they moved back and forth in a silent embrace, sharing the handful of moments in time and space that were only theirs. The lights dimmed, and the fire played shadows across their features. They continued to dance to the music only they heard, and kissed with a passion that was their secret to keep. Forever.

  Chapter 4

  Azhulhand’s golden armor was bright amongst the blue of his comrades, the brilliant sun of the forest world reflecting off the surface. His blade dripped with the bluish blood of a Cydrakian beast that had tried to bring him low. The creature’s head sank into the dirt and was quickly crushed by a golden boot. The body was secured almost immediately by a crew to process for research. He wondered how many more of these bodies the Corporation needed. Reinholdt’s ship had entire floors of laboratory space dedicated the studying the DNA manipulation of the Cydrakian horde, but after just under thirty years of conflict, were there any secrets they had left? A blast of energy ricocheted through the air, three more Cydrakian rebels emerging from the thick foliage around them.

  Without even a moment’s hesitation, Azhulhand flung himself through the air by the handle of his blade, cleaving in half the first of the dark-skinned creatures. A pulse of sharp light immolated the ruined flesh, slugs careening over his shoulder as his men gunned down the other two soldiers. They too burned up by some immense moment of light, and their ashes soaked into the ground. He grunted lightly, always thinking how weird it was for a creature to burst into ash upon death. He retrieved his sword and shrugged it into the large scabbard on his back. They’d been dredging through this extraordinarily thick section of the forest for well over three hours now, and he was beginning to lose the usual thrill he had in fighting the Cydrakians. He’d killed too many of them, twenty of his adult years spent dueling and killing and disabling their soldiers and assets. An operator without the thrill of battle couldn’t last long, and he was afraid that his thrill was long gone on this planet.

  Reinholdt’s ships were faring just as well, their strategic bombing runs leveling entire portions of the forest (pointless as it would grow back within the next day) and setting fire to their civilized areas. Azhulhand motioned his men forward, the screams of Reinholdt’s black ships bouncing off the trees and filling the forest with fear. He could feel the tension from the beasts and birds within the twisted tree-line, bringing him an odd satisfaction. His boots kicked up caked mud from the ground, his soldiers fanning out and forming a walking perimeter. The dense grass and trees gave up the idea of containing them and spat them out into an opening. Openings were not the Corporation’s friend on this world, Azhulhand noted as they emerged. Two small black ships the size of corvettes maneuvered with dainty grace through the sapphire sky, firing bolts of intense heat to gun down some target that Azhulhand couldn’t see. He had full faith in Reinholdt and how he positioned his aerial assets, so he didn’t question it. The twelve men he’d brought with him on foot we
re not his personal guard, so he had less trust for them than he would have. But even in an endless war it was sometimes better to bring the b-team then to always have the best running through enemy forces. He figured training would be better done now than in a full confrontation with a Cydrakian horde.

  The clearing was far larger than he calculated for, the forward tree-line no longer visible from the ground. He estimated they’d have a few miles to go before they could get back within the cover of the trees. The primitive blaster weapons the Cydrakian’s used wouldn’t do them any more good in the open than they had in the darkness of the forest, so Azhulhand didn’t bother to have his men any more alert than they already were.

  “Reinholdt, visual parameter.” He stated over his mic.

  “The eyes and ears are clear. No heat signatures or peculiar movement detected. You are cleared to proceed. Remember Azhulhand. Command wants us to find this thing, so…find it.”

  “Yes Reinholdt. And though command is omniscient and worthy of utmost respect, I will say again: “If they wish for me to find something, they could tell me what it is.”” He said with a dry tone.

  “You know that in their high respect for you, they believe that you will figure out what it is when you find out.” Reinholdt said.

  Without responding, Azhulhand continued forward. Every step of his was heavy and crushed the plants beneath his golden boots, and the blue-booted feet of his men followed suit. He was flanked on all sides by loyal soldiers, and three of the scouts had gone ahead of them. Most of these soldiers had been born in orbiting facilities or nearby sectors, primarily for the purpose of continuing this fruitless campaign. They suffered losses on occasion, and had to replace them. It was sad to Azhulhand that this forest world had consumed so many Corporation lives, including his own. He looked up towards the sky and spotted a few more dark ships in the distance, more of Reinholdt’s fleet. The Cydrakians had little in the way of aerial units, and thus the skies were controlled unopposed. A few times they’d summoned some sort of winged beast, and one of those monstrosities could take down a squad of drones and even a few piloted vessels. Those were rare, and Azhulhand reasoned that it must require a lot of energy to create them, or maybe just too much time.

  “Hmm. That’s irritating. Inbound!” Reinholdt said with an urgent tone into the mic. Azhulhand looked out and saw the precise thing that had upset Reinholdt, an entire force of Cydrakians had managed to move on the outer horizon and avoid detection. “I have no idea how they fooled the readings, but I’ll get some bombers headed your way.”

  The day-to-day operations of subduing the planet’s civilians had never gone well, they were too full of surprises. It was as if every time the Corporation had something that worked, they were prepared for it the next day. Some of the beasts were immune to solid projectiles, others laughed off energy-based weapons, and still even others drank poison as if it was nothing. Azhulhand let out a sigh and drew his sword from the scabbard with one hand. His apparatus was fully charged, having used almost no energy since he’d arrived on world this morning, the few beasts he’d slain earlier had not been any sort of challenge and didn’t require the boosts the apparatus gave.

  “How many years have I wasted here? Calamity knows.” He breathed aloud.

  “Nearly 20.” Reinholdt replied, though Azhulhand hadn’t noticed his mic was still hot. He shook his head and shouted orders to his men. Twelve corporation soldiers, not a human among them. He didn’t mind the humans who defected and joined them, but he was more comfortable around his own species. He couldn’t trust humans, especially turncoats, and he didn’t want them behind his back with a weapon. Some may cover him, others may shoot him in his ass when he wasn’t looking, and that would be a horrible way for the old warrior to go. He leaned into a running jaunt, catching up with his men who had taken off in a hurry at his orders. They ducked low in the heavy grass, acknowledging the lack of cover in the field. The scouts keyed back through the mic, and made their return to Azulhand’s position in the grass.

  “Reinholdt, status on the bombers?”

  “Looks like we’ve got some interference, one of those damn flying reptiles again.” Reinholdt said. As if on cue a roar filled the air and an ominous shadow covered them for a brief moment. The winged-beast was indeed covered in armored plating like a reptile and was proceeding to pluck drones from the sky and throw them downwards. Azhulhand started laughing out loud, a slow and hearty belly-laugh. At once his men knew that was a good sign, when their commander was laughing it meant he’d felt the call to battle once more. He was the most effective when he was laughing, and many had called him the comedian of battle for a reason. Azhulhand made several hand gestures and his men crawled out from the deep grass and set up firing positions. He watched as heavy weapons glistened in their hands, not a single one of them equipped with an apparatus. They were too expensive to give any to his men out here, and yet somehow the Rebel Alice was known to have one. He thought for a moment on her and the blood hunt the Demon had called in her name. He’d have to get to that later, for now he had a monster to slay.

  The great beasts of Cydrak were known for their physical prowess, claws that could cut through the sturdiest of alloys and hides that could deflect bolts of light. The flying beasts were dubbed “Harriers”, based on legendary beasts of ancient Corporation times. Harriers were flying reptiles that had decimated much of ancient Corporation civilization, but a quick thinking inventor had created the slug throwing weapons they used today, and that had given them all the edge they needed. Azhulhand liked to think that these Harriers were tougher than ancient ones, and perhaps nothing like them at all. He was the first Corporation man to slay one, and to make them different beasts than those of legends cemented his own legacy as the Harrier slayer. The beast disappeared from sight and flew high into the sky, and the Commander clicked a button on the apparatus’s display.

  “I see you Commander, sending drone now.” Reinholdt said. They both held the same title as Commander, and Azhulhand always felt weird when his brother in arms called him by his title. They ate together, sparred together, lived together and fought together. In his mind calling someone by their title made them superior to you, and he never felt superior to Reinholdt. Unless they were sparring with blades of course, but Reinholdt was far superior to him when it came to fleet combat. In fact Reinholdt’s skills were renown throughout the universe, as was his ship the Eldritch Glaive. Why there were out here in the outer rims fighting monsters, Azhulhand had no clue. They deserved the real battlefield and the real glory.

  The drone shot out a single metallic cable that connected with Azhulhand’s armor, picking him up as it shot through the air. Azhulhand held his blade tightly with one arm and the cable with the other, hitting a switch and feeling the slack loosen. Reinholdt had taken control of this drone and knew exactly what Azhulhand intended to do. The theory was: kill a Cydrakian one way, you couldn’t kill it the same way twice. Last time they brought down a Harrier was with a storm of high-intensity plasma, so naturally they figured a good old fashioned beheading would be the best way this time around. Azhulhand could fly in his apparatus, a point that Reinholdt brought up often, but he disliked the feeling of balance when it came to swinging his blade when under power of his own armor. The technicians determined there was nothing wrong with the sword or armor, so it had to be something in the Commander’s mind that stopped him from being efficient.

  From a military and tactics perspective, there were more efficient methods to bring down the harrier and engage the force on the surface; but Azhulhand was bored. When a veteran and well decorated Commander got bored, they had to do something to break the monotony. The Harrier emerged from a cover of clouds and flew down towards the drone that was carrying the Commander, the dive carrying its open maw straight for him. Thousands of teeth lined the creatures rampaging mouth, broken pieces of metal and smoking mechanical parts waiting to be swallowed adorning the fangs like trophies. The Corporation Commander couldn’t he
lp but smile, pulling his weight up onto the drone and holding his blade upwards, Reinholdt kicking the drone’s engines upwards. Riding the drone towards the mouth, Azhulhand could see the beady red eyes of the creature already masked in blood. If he were a scientist this would have given him pause, but a warrior doesn’t pause in battle. It occurred to him as he drove his blade upwards, that the creature could swallow him and the drone whole and still have room for more, but he was gambling on the fact his blade was sharper than the creature could handle.

  The cord tightened to enhance his balance, both hands gripped the hilt of the heavy blade as he braced his feet against the drone’s surface. He ducked ever-so-slightly before reaching upwards and connecting with the snout of the creature, drawing the blade into the flesh and forward even as he himself entered the creature’s hungry mouth. The blade felt no resistance as it carved flesh in half, showering the would-be-slayer with gore and blood. The Drone turned and pulled them free from the harrier, spinning around to give Azhulmand full view of his quarry. The beast roared, a gurgling sound mixed with air and blood as it hissed and spun towards the ground. The blade sank into its home on his back, and the warrior spit a glob of blood from the back of the drone.

  “Well. That was disappointing.” Azhulhand said through the mic. The sun had disappeared from view, and the words had just left his mouth when row after row of teeth surrounded him. The jaws of the beast clamped shut around him and the drone with the speed of an assault ship’s twin-engines. The drone’s engines whirred to life, Azhulhand’s gauntleted fists going straight for the weapons hidden in holsters on his shoulders. The weapons were dark wood and gold, an antique appearance for such powerful plasma weapons. He always favored the look of the Old World, where all Corporation history came from and would eventually return after the Calamity had been dispersed and the universe was safe again. The barrels of each weapon were over a foot and a half in length, but they slid so quickly from their restraints it was if they had no length at all. The creature’s saliva dripped down the man and the machine as the throat muscles contracted around them, attempting a deadly swallow.