Page 22 of Rebels Rising (The Intergalactic Union #3)

Artemis

‘C aptain, the enemy ship is encroaching with increased velocity. With the asteroid field approaching, we can no longer outpace them,’ Eloria stated, interrupting our discussion.

I shared a worried look with Bromm and Cadmus. Adara was already focused on the holo-screen while Reece scowled down at his feet.

‘How long, GC?’ I asked her.

‘They will be in firing range within a half a turn, Captain.’

‘Shit,’ Addy swore, the sentiment mirrored by us all.

‘Captain, what are your orders?’ Julius asked, piping up for the first time since the ship was spotted. Though there was sweat already beading on his brow and he had turned a rather alarming shade of green, his spine was straight, his voice steady and he spoke with confidence indicative of someone of his station. He was pushing his fear aside with a professionalism that I admired, and for the first time since I’d met him, he was a true soldier.

‘Ready the weapons. Prepare to fire on my order, but not a moment sooner. Hopefully, if we play this right, we won’t need to.’

‘Yes, Captain.’

I looked around, wondering where Xander was and what was taking him so long to return. Surely, Foryk wasn’t that difficult to find. I needed my second.

No, it was more than that. I needed the security of an experienced captain to act as a safety net in case I fucked everything up. I had never been responsible for so many people before, and I was actively pushing down the anxiety that was shoving at my mental walls with increased intensity.

‘Adara,’ I called. ‘Have you heard from Xander?’

‘No, Captain.’

‘I need you to find him and bring him back. He should be done informing Foryk by now. I need him here.’

‘Yes, Captain.’

She turned on her heel and exited the room without further prompting, her shoulders tense and steps hurried. Surprisingly, before the door could shut completely, another person stepped through that I wasn’t expecting.

‘Katira,’ I greeted impatiently, though I tried to keep my tone gentle out of respect for her traumas. ‘Now’s not a good time.’

‘That’s actually why I’m here, Captain,’ she said, and though she was clearly fighting the impulse to avert her eyes and hunch her shoulders, she held herself aloft with a confidence I didn’t think she was capable of after her abuse.

‘What is it?’ I asked, suddenly on alert. If she had information I wondered why she hadn’t come to me with it sooner. Perhaps she felt like she couldn’t.

‘The ship’s logs state that we’re headed towards an asteroid field. Is this correct?’

I scowled, unsure where she was going with this but confirmed, nonetheless.

‘The only asteroid field I know of close to Nova Station’s current coordinates is a trap,’ she said.

‘A trap? How?’

‘Pirates, Captain. Pirates aligned with The Program.’

My breath left my lungs on a whoosh . The blows just kept coming.

‘How do you know this?’ I asked her, weariness like a weight now dragging me down.

‘I overheard my father speaking with the scientists. They’ve been using the pirates as their primary method of transporting their… newly acquired subjects to the different facilities.’

I cursed, a single word one of anger and frustration that swirled into a mass of pure, unadulterated rage. The implications of what she had just informed me not only caused us trouble in the present but was apparently a long-standing issue I was previously unaware of. How I had let something like that slip through the gaps in my knowledge…

But that was it, wasn’t it? They were using pirates under the table to avoid leaving a paper trail of their actions. It was a way for them to skirt accountability if they were ever discovered, the pirates the ones who would take the fall for trafficking all those people. All those children . It was smart, I would give them that.

The biggest problem now, however, was that if we managed to successfully evade the incoming enemy ship and then successfully manoeuvre through the asteroid field, we were going to face another enemy as soon as we came out the other side. An enemy that would keep us locked in place while The Program and their army took their time going the longer, safer way around. They were going to catch us no matter what.

We were trapped.

‘Why didn’t you come to me with this sooner?’ I asked her, my helplessness latching onto her and morphing into fury.

‘I… I-I didn’t kn-know. I o-only just s-saw our c-course, C-Captain,’ she stammered, her false bravado fleeing under the force of my anger.

‘Why were you even looking?’

‘Y-you said…’ she paused to take a deep breath, the action steadying her enough to speak with a little more confidence again. She was standing up for herself. Interesting. ‘You said my brother and I were free to go once we landed. We were researching our options, and when we discovered the ship’s course, we knew we were headed for more trouble. I came to you as soon as I had the information to give, Captain.’

I forced myself to back down, caging my raging emotions. It would do no one any good if I lost it now.

‘I see. Thank you, Katira, for coming to me with this.’ I turned to Eloria. ‘Can you run a quick scan to confirm the information, GC?’

‘Of course, Captain,’ she said, already pulling up the holo-screen and tapping away.

‘There’s a rogue planet on the other side of the asteroid belt that they’ve made their base,’ Katira informed us both. Eloria, lips pursed, nodded her acknowledgment and started the scan. The hologram projected to the space above us, giving us a three-dimensional view of the upcoming scenery. Sure enough, after navigating past the asteroid field, a larger, dead-looking planet appeared floating freely just far enough away from the asteroids to avoid collision but close enough to almost blend in. Almost, because it was far larger than the drifting cloud of oversized rocks we were coming up on.

What was the most concerning, however, was that there were multiple ships detected surrounding the planet with more joining the fray as the scanner gave us a constantly updating image.

‘Intel confirmed, Captain. We’re surrounded.’

‘They’re already mobilising,’ I said breathlessly. ‘The Program must have contacted them to pin us in when they realised where we were heading.’

‘It was a good plan, Captain, but now we need a new one.’

‘There isn’t much else we can do except follow through, Eloria. And prepare to fight our way out.’

‘Captain?’ Julius called for my attention.

‘Yes?’

‘How are we going to fight our way out of that? We’re just one ship and they’re… many .’

‘Bait,’ I said, a plan forming in my head.

‘Captain?’

‘We need to adjust the plan.’

Adara chose that moment to return with Xander in tow, both looking particularly harried.

‘Perfect timing, you two,’ I greeted, relieved to see them both.

‘Kat?’ Addy drew up short in surprise at the unusual guest.

‘Katira here has just informed us of another problem. A big one. And I’m going to needed everyone’s help if we’re going to get through this,’ I informed them, then proceeded to explain my plan.

???

‘I’ll round up the others. Let’s just hope everyone can access the abilities we need,’ Addy said, also heading out with an urgency we were all feeling.

This plan was going to be risky, no doubt about it, but we didn’t have any other choice, but if we were going to pull it off then everyone needed to play their part to perfection. The Program were slippery fuckers, and with the military and government backing they’d accrued it was going to be even more difficult to pull this off, but it was either this or surrender, and surrendering was not an option.

When she was no longer in view, I collapsed into the chair I had claimed as my own and let out a shaky breath. Xander came to stand beside me, though he didn’t lower himself into his own chair to be on my level, choosing to remain upright instead.

‘It’s a good plan,’ he said. Was he trying to soothe me?

‘Why did you choose this side of the fight?’ I blurted the question, gazing up at him from below.

My question seemed to shock him enough that he staggered back a step before he caught himself. ‘What?’

‘You’re choosing to fight against an organisation that has no morals, that has latched itself into the very DNA of the Intergalactic Union whether we like it or not, and who can hurt the people you love. Why did you choose to stand against them?’

‘I am no coward, Artemis,’ he said, and this time it was my turn to be taken aback as he used my name.

‘I never claimed you were a coward, Alexander Hironimus. I am merely curious why you chose to put everyone you’ve ever cared about in danger to fight for what will likely be a losing battle.’

‘There are no victors until it’s over, Artemis. I have faith that we will overcome and persevere to see the other side. Yes, we may lose people on the way, people we love and cherish, but that is the burden of war. It wouldn’t matter which side I chose when it comes to their safety, because it is the war itself that puts them in danger, so I will continue to choose to fight for what is right. My morality is not so easily bought or swayed.’

I mulled over his answer, letting his words sink deeper into my bones where they reinforced my convictions and stabilised my decision.

I stood up, still weighed down by the gravity of out situation but feeling reinvigorated by his little speech.

‘Get everyone in place, Xander. I’ll make the announcement.’

‘Yes, Captain,’ he acknowledged, hurrying from the room. With the enemy ship approaching even faster than anticipated I’d used up any moments we had to spare.

Addy returned with the others barely a click later, their faces sallow and tense. I held up a finger to ask them to wait as I connected to the ship’s intercom.

‘Soldiers, this is your captain speaking. The enemy are on our tail and are fast approaching. They will be on us within a turn. We will not be engaging with weapons. Instead, we will be commandeering their ship. All volunteers must remain with the children. Everyone else, ready for battle. Let’s show these bastards what we’re made of.’

When I ended the connection an alert popped up on the holo-screen, replacing the intercom’s interface. Large, flashing images that took up the entirety of the wall as our scanners tracked the progress of the enemy ship, a warning that our time was running out. The enemy was almost upon us.

I turned to address Julius first. ‘Are our weapons on standby?’

‘Yes, Captain. Everything is set up and ready to fire.’

‘Perfect.’ I turned to Eloria. ‘Are you sure you can do this?’

‘If you get those shields up I can do what needs to be done. They’ll never catch on.’

I nodded my appreciation then faced the rest of the bodies in the room.

‘Ready?’ I asked them.

‘As we’ll ever be,’ Cadmus responded as Reece’s jaw ticked nervously.

‘Okay, then. Follow me into the web. Let’s see if we can all communicate inside or if it’s just me, Bromm and Cadmus.’

I settled myself back in the chair and gestured for the others to do the same. Bromm took the seat to my left while Cadmus took the one to my right, scuffling for a moment with Adara before ultimately winning out. My lips twitched in amusement before I could stop them, but I didn’t think anyone saw. Adara eventually sat beside Reece on the opposite side of the holo-table, leaving the remaining seat for Xander when he returned.

Without further ado, I closed my eyes and connected my mind with the ship’s interface.