Page 25 of Rebels Rising (The Intergalactic Union #3)
Alexander
M y surprise at seeing our faces plastered all over the holo-screen alerting the entirety of the Intergalactic Union that we were dangerous criminals did not stem from the fact that our enemies took that step to limit us in our escape. If anything, I was shocked that it had taken them this long to put our faces out there for everyone to see.
They thought they were punishing us, ruining our chances of finding a safe haven to make things easier to catch us. They were wrong.
Unfortunately, Reece was not aware of this fact. Truthfully, even if he were, I didn’t think it would have done anything to prevent his panic attack but perhaps it could have helped prevent the fainting.
Henrik burst into the room in a flurry of anxious activity, a heavy-looking bag practically dragging behind him from its sheer size.
‘Where is he?’ he demanded and I pointed to where Reece still lay on the floor, though I had done my best to rearrange him into a more comfortable position. He’d landed with his limbs twisted, some of them beneath his body that was contorted at an odd angle. I’d called Henrik in just in case he’d broken something as he’d impacted with the floor, figuring it was better safe than sorry.
Reece needed to be awake and functioning throughout the next stage of our plan, or else he’d become another obstacle to overcome. While I understood his reaction to the trauma he’d faced, now wasn’t the time to lose his head. He needed to pull it together and remember that he was better than that. He was allowing them to win, and someone needed to remind him of his strength, both of body and of mind.
Henrik’s crouched down to run a scanner over the entirety of Reece’s prone body then checked his vitals before lifting his face up to look at me. ‘He’s fine. No broken bones. His heartrate is still a little high, but that’s to be expected from a panic attack of this magnitude. He’ll wake once its calmed down again.’
I nodded, moving my attention back to the holo-screen. The notices were hidden behind the scanners again, the ship now close enough that they would be visible if we had windows.
It was time.
A groan sounded behind me, signalling Reece’s return to consciousness.
‘What happened?’ he asked, rubbing the bump on the back of his head from where he fell on it.
‘You had a panic attack and passed out,’ Henrik informed him gently. ‘How are you feeling, Reece?’
‘Like my head is full of hammers.’
‘Your nanites will likely fix that in a moment,’ I told him.
Henrik checked the little machine still attached to Reece’s finger and nodded. ‘Your heartrate is already evening out.’
‘The pain is almost gone,’ Reece muttered thoughtfully.
‘Good,’ I said, drawing their attention back to me. ‘Because it’s time.’
Henrik quickly packed away his supplies and stood, raising the bag up as evidence that he was packed and ready to go. ‘I’ll head to the hangar bay.’
‘Reece, you should go with him,’ I said.
His brows dipped low and his lips pursed in dissatisfaction. ‘But I’m okay. I said I was fine. My head doesn’t even hurt anymore.’
‘Exactly,’ I said. ‘I assume your job inside the web was completed?’
‘Yes, of course.’
‘Then head to the hangar bay. I’ll meet you down there as soon as I’m done up here.’
He inhaled sharply, understanding my order. ‘Have they made contact yet?’
My lips thinned. ‘Not yet, but I’m expecting it any moment now.’
‘Right. Okay. The hangar bay.’
I caught his glance towards the others still glowing blue as they navigated whatever technological realm I wasn’t privy to. ‘I will send them to join you when they have completed raising the shields.’
He nodded curtly and strode from the room, spine ramrod straight as tension radiated from him like a physical warning not to get too close. Good. He would need that to drive him forward for the next stage, especially considering who and what we were about to face.
The holo-screen beeped just as the door slid closed behind him, signalling the incoming transition I had been waiting on. I brushed off some invisible dust from my jumpsuit and positioned myself to avoid showing the table full of cyborgs within the frame, then nodded for Eloria to answer the call.
My breath hitched at the face that filled the screen, answering a question that had been plaguing me since we left Nova Station while adding even more.
‘Captain Hironimus,’ she greeted.
Her face was more gaunt than I remembered it being, dark bruises circling her eyes and her cheeks hollowing from malnutrition. Stress lined her face in even more wrinkles, and her previously salt-and-pepper hair was pulled back into a tight bun of pure grey. Had it only been a few days since we had last seen one another? Surely not, if she looked so haggard.
‘Colonel Granger.’
I didn’t correct her misuse of the title. Yes, I was still technically a captain by military standards, but the lack of a ship under my command nullified that fact. And, of course, the fact that I was a deserter.
‘The ship you have stolen is owned by The Program and is therefore under the jurisdiction of the IU’s military. You will stand down and surrender to your arrest as the law demands. Prepare to be boarded and face the consequences of your betrayal, Captain.’
‘Understood, Colonel Granger. You may board at your leisure,’ I agreed, keeping my voice and expression devoid of all emotion. I couldn’t give us up just yet.
Her eyes widened in surprise as her demands were met with zero resistance. From my standpoint I couldn’t figure out if she was glad or disappointed in the easy acquiescence, nor could I tell if she had been bullied into joining enemy forces or if she was still on our side. I supposed it didn’t matter in the end, her role in this war already used up and her significance greatly depleted. All I could hope for was that she came out the other side.
The call cut off before she could reply, and I scowled at the suddenly empty holo-screen.
‘Xander?’ Eloria’s sweet voice called, her concern for me clear. She was well aware of the relationship I had with Colonel Granger. Professionally, she may as well have been my military mother after taking me under her wing all those solars ago.
I sent her a sad smile, a small concession out of respect for our growing friendship. ‘I’m fine, Eloria. Don’t worry about me.’
Her answering deadpan look wasn’t even slightly apologetic. ‘Don’t tell me not to worry about my friends, Xan. That will always be a given.’
I sighed but let it drop. Truthfully, her response filled me with a mixture of emotions that confused me. On the one hand, I was pleased at her referencing me as a friend, but something about that was bittersweet. Yes, we were friendly, but there was something about her that made a heat stir in my groin. A heat I hadn’t entertained since I first discovered my feelings for Adara.
It was a slow burn, just like the realisation, which curled in my lower abdomen. I was attracted to Eloria Stanson.
‘Where’s Reece?’ Addy asked, and I swivelled to turn what I was sure was guilty eyes on her only to find her not even looking in our direction. Now wasn’t the time for such frivolous things, however, so I schooled my features back into my professional mask.
‘Hangar bay,’ I told her.
‘They called,’ she stated, finally turning her eyes on me.
My chin dipped in confirmation. ‘Colonel Granger is alive, though I wouldn’t say she is well.’
She took a deep breath through her nose and exhaled slowly. ‘I see. Are you okay?’
‘Fine,’ I lied, and I was glad no one called me out on it. ‘You need to get in position. Everyone is just waiting on us.’
‘Yes, sir,’ she said, and for the first time it wasn’t even sarcastic.
The remaining three came back to us just as she stood, and we explained the situation. Cadmus reluctantly joined Addy as she left, but Bromm stayed behind. He would be staying on the ship with Artemis, his role one I almost envied. Since he had been ill before we left he was the only one we could really allow to stay behind. Well, besides Tormik, but it seemed he was blending into the wall a little too well since even Addy had yet to notice him.
I glanced over my shoulder to confirm that he was, indeed, still in the room and hadn’t snuck out and, sure enough, there he stood. The others followed my line of sight and the guard received a range of mixed reactions. Artemis scrunched her nose as if she’d smelled something bad, Bromm and Cadmus both looked curious, and Addy raised an accusing eyebrow at me, clearly figuring out his presence was my doing.
‘Come on, Cadmus. Let’s get in position.’ Addy grabbed his hand and he let her lead him from the room. He cast one last sorrowful glance behind him at Artemis and Bromm before the door blocked him off, and Artemis released a shaky breath as she stared after them.
‘Captain,’ I called for her attention which she gave without further delay.
‘Go,’ she ordered, slipping a small metal ball into my hand. I didn’t wait around for goodbyes. The only ones who were remaining on this ship were the children, the volunteers, and everyone left in the cockpit. The rest of us had our own jobs to do.
I hurried to catch up with Addy and Cadmus, reaching them just before the elevator door closed to take them all the way to the lower deck. The space was small and cramped with the three of us inside, My larger size alongside the bulk of Cadmus’s wings had us squished together, poor Addy crushed between us.
Exiting the elevator wasn’t any better. Throngs of soldiers milled about the hangar bay, the large laundry carts that were used to transport the children were pushed to one side, and an amber light flashed above to signal the incoming boarding mid-space. We pushed our way to the centre and everyone quietened down when they saw me, turning expectantly while they awaited their instructions.
‘The enemy is boarding!’ I called. ‘Remember, act as if you are preparing for your arrest. Do not fight back until we are on their ship.’
I paused to give them time to ask any questions but continued when they remained silent, raising the spherical device Artemis had provided me in the air for them all to see. ‘I have in my possession device that will remove our cuffs. Wait for me to free you, and then we’ll show those fuckers exactly who they’re messing with.’
Cheers arose from all angles, deafening in as they bounced around the chamber.
The air lock alarm blared and everyone settled down, turning to face the door and wait. The amber light turned red as the ship jolted, the connection between the two ships now made, and then the airlock doors opened. A few clicks later, the hangar bay door opened to reveal a contingency of soldiers, weapons already pointing at us.
‘Hands in the air!’ a male voice boomed.
We complied.
The soldiers swarmed us, roughly yanking our hands behind our backs and snapping handcuffs around our wrists. I almost broke when they were too rough with Addy. They knocked her over only to catch her by the handcuffs and pulled her up by her arms, but as they were behind her back they almost pulled them clean out of the sockets. She winced as they pulled them straight up, her shoulders straining against the assault.
We were dragged through the bridge connecting the two ship, a few of the soldiers staying behind to clear our ship for any of us that had decided to hide. They would be in for a shock when they realised they weren’t hiding and were about to walk right into our trap.
As they herded us through their ship, an array of personnel lining the halls, I could only hope that our plan would work. Uniformed officers glaring at us while white-coated scientists stared at us with a hunger that chilled me to my bones, and I couldn’t stop myself from searching the crowd for Addy. I’d lost her in the scuffle of bodies, her frame too small and slight to keep track of amid so many larger bodies. I caught sight of the top of Cadmus’s head, his mousy brown hair usually neatly smooth back was mussed, little pieces flopping down over his forehead as he, too, searched the crowed. He relaxed slightly when he saw me, his eyes darting to the soldiers beside him. They parted just enough for me to catch a glimpse of a sliver of pink, and my own heartrate lowered at the knowledge that at least Addy had one of us beside her.
After all, I had a pretty strong gut feeling that I would be separated from the bunch to face interrogation. They seemed to believe I was still the reining captain. They would soon learn that was a fatal mistake.
???
I was right to assume they would separate me from the others.
The holding cell I had been waiting in for the past few turns was small and contained only the bare necessities. A metal cot with a thin mattress, pillow, and blanket, a toilet in the corner with a small sink beside it, and that was it. It was cold, but there were more important things to worry about than the temperature of the room. I didn’t think they’d kill me with the conditions, but I was prepared for discomfort. It was a method of information extraction I had used in the past myself.
My biggest issue was that I had searched high and low for any sign of surveillance only to find none, but I still felt that prickle on the back of my neck telling of watchful eyes. I needed to get the skeleton key device from my pocket to release myself from my shackles, but I couldn’t risk it when I didn’t know what angle to shift my body to hide my actions.
I was about to scan the room again when the locks snicked on the door before it slid open to reveal the two people I had very strong feelings for, plus a third I was unfamiliar with. Colonel Granger stepped through, her frame startlingly thinner and more frail than the last time I had seen her in person. She was flanked by two scientists, one a tall, thin man salt-and-pepper hair and a chillingly empty expression. I knew him to be Doctor Demari. The second scientist, a woman, was short and plump, her own hair streaked through with strands of silver as it was pulled back into a low ponytail at the base of her skull. Her nose crinkled in a sour expression as she stared down at me with brazen derision, her beady eyes hard and judgemental. I had never seen her before, but she fit the description Artemis had given of the other scientist Jorna had been guarding back on Nova Station.
My stomach clenched at the reminder of her betrayal, and not just hers. Markus was still hanging around somewhere, and I was glad it wasn’t him that had come to interrogate me. I didn’t think I’d have been able to remain level-headed enough. I probably would have torn out his throat with my teeth for what he’d done. To Katira and her roommate, to Tarren, Reece, Addy… me. His secrets cut the deepest, a pure evil that rivalled even the scientists that had torn into the people I cared about. His was untamed, a feral sort of malignancy that opposed The Program’s neat, organised, emotionless tendencies.
Markus Fletcher was tumour that needed to be ripped out of the source and left to wither away into nothing more than ash and dust.
I didn’t bother to stand to greet them, refusing to give them any form of respect. At least two out of the three had not earned it, and I still couldn’t be sure if Granger had been compromised or not. Instead, I kept my eyes intent on Colonel Granger, though I knew the scientists were the biggest threat in the room. I wanted them to believe I was underestimating them so they would, in turn, underestimate me.
‘Alexander Hironimus,’ Granger addressed me. ‘We’re going to ask you a few questions. You will provide truthful answers only, do you understand? We will know if you lie.’
Her eyes darted to the hovering scientists who took turns to remove small square device from their pockets that they attached to their holo-tabs as they eyed me with a cold expectancy. I assumed they would somehow allow them to keep track of my biological responses. Pocket lie detectors. Of course, they would invent such a thing.
‘Yes, ma’am. I understand.’ I kept my tone even while I inched my hands towards the pocket in my jumpsuit. I didn’t know how their interrogation would pan out and I felt better to have the option of freedom within grasp.
The scientists remained standing, almost as if they were guarding Granger as she produced a metal chair from the floor and sat facing me, just barely out of reach. I supposed they were. If they suspected she was working against them then it made sense for them to be keeping a close eye on her.
‘Alex, I need you to tell me where the subjects are,’ she said, her tone hard but her eyes soft and pleading while the others couldn’t see.
‘Which subjects?’ I ask obstinately, though there was legitimacy in my question. ‘You’ll need to be more specific.’
‘All of them. Any of them. Just tell us what you know.’
I shrugged then leaned back against the metallic wall. The cold seeped into my skin and burrowed deep, but I used the sensation to keep me in the present.
‘Alex,’ she tried again, this time a little more forcefully. ‘I can’t help you if you don’t help me… us ,’ she quickly corrected, her shoulder tensing at the blunder. I wondered what it was they were threatening her with if she was so eager to try to drag the information they sought out of me, of all people.
‘I don’t know. Not here.’
The scientists studied the results of my answer but I couldn’t read any emotions reflected over what they found.
‘What about the children? Where are the youngest subjects?’
I shrugged again, settling in for the long-haul. ‘Don’t know.’
‘Reece and Adara?’ she pushed.
‘I don’t know what you want me to say. I don’t know where they are.’
The female scientist stepped forward, her scowl so deep her eyes were nothing more than slits as she waved the little device in front of my face. ‘Subjects NS-001 and NS-002 are on board this ship. They were apprehended with the rest of you, so that’s one lie confirmed, Mister Hironimus,’ she spat, dropping my title in an obvious attempt to rattle me while she called me out. I was getting quite used to Artemis taking over my position, so it didn’t work, and I didn’t owe these bastards the truth so they wouldn’t be getting it from me regardless.
But one thing made me frown in confusion. ‘Subjects NS-001 and NS-002?’
‘You will have known them as the criminals named Reece Hastings and Adara Brin, but as their rights have been stripped from them so have their identities. They are now property of The Program and will be addressed as such,’ the woman sneered and I fought every instinct within me not to leap over Granger and throttle the bitch.
With a herculean effort I managed to keep my face void of all emotion as I responded to her unspoken threats. ‘I don’t know what you want me to tell you. You might have Addy and Reece in your custody again, but that doesn’t mean I know anything about the others. Did you consider the possibility that Artemis took the kids on another ship?’
Her lips pinched as she stepped forward, attempting to intimidate me. It was an unsuccessful attempt due to the fact that she was about a third of my size, clearly not trained in combat if her portliness was any indication, and her face was turning a rather amusing shade of purple. Granger rose a single, weathered hang to stop her progress, however, and stood from her seat. The chair slid back into its spot in the floor. That action alone let me know this conversation was about to be cut short.
‘Last chance, Alex. You won’t like what happens next if you don’t cooperate. Obstinance will not help you.’
When my lips didn’t even twitch, hers pursed in disapproval before the scientists pocketed the devices. Granger turned and left the room. Demari was hot on her heels and I wasn’t sad to see either of them go, though I did pause to wonder why he hadn’t spoken up once in that entire interaction. The nameless woman remained for a moment longer, scrutinising me with a simmering rage I was all too happy to incur, and then she, too, left the room.
As soon as the lock snicked on the door I was moving, the ball-like device in my hands. I felt around for the hidden divot and pressed down when I found it. A barely perceptible hum emanating from it followed by a click, and then the handcuffs holding my arms behind my back slid off my wrists.
I put on a show for the cameras by keeping my hands pinned behind my back and holding onto the cuffs, but I needed to get a move on if our plan was going to work in time. I shot up off the bed and pressed an ear against the door, listening for any signs of life outside the room. I was relieved when I caught the sound of someone’s heavy breathing just on the other side. At least they weren’t stupid enough to leave me unguarded, but they were going to be in for a shock when they realised that wasn’t enough. Perhaps Granger wasn’t a complete write-off if she hadn’t given them the full scope of my capabilities, though I suspected if they wanted to know then they would just look it up. Even if they didn’t have authorised access to my files they would have just hacked into them regardless.
On a positive note, there was only one individual guarding my door which meant I would be able to get the drop on them as soon as I burst through. Still, I waited for a few more clicks just to be sure, and when I heard no other signs of life I placed the tiny orb against the locking mechanisms and listened to the low whir as it worked its magic. The locks retracted noisily so I didn’t waste any time shoving out into the hallway, immediately jabbing the guard in the throat with my knuckles before he could process what was happening in time to react.
He bowled over with a wheeze, clutching at his throat, leaning right into my grasp as I gripped his head and smashed it into the doorframe, disorienting him further. I did it again, then once more until he collapsed on the ground unconscious.
One guard dealt with quickly and easily, I scanned the corridor for more only to find it completely deserted. I knew I didn’t have long until someone was alerted to my escape, so I rushed to open the next door down. A group of officers I was unfamiliar with were crammed inside the tiny space, but they grinned when they saw me, eager to get the show on the road.
One after the other I released them from their restraints, the clang of metal against metal as they fell to the floor far too loud after the first one was free, so the others made sure to catch them before they could fall.
They followed me out, but while I headed for the door after that they continued on to dispose of any threats in our path.
We were deadly. We were silent. We struck quickly and efficiently, rounding up both soldier and scientist alike as we took over the ship. By the time they realised what was happening, it was too late.
The ship was ours.