Freedom Saga 2: Freedom's Bell (22 page)

Brian,
Esra, El Kar, Kivi, Myden, Veda, Zae, and Shiken Ka headed into the command
center one by one. A few minutes passed before the Minerva appeared on one of
the screens. Valis landed and quickly made her way to join the rest of the
leaders. As she ran in the Admiral Vikrit appeared on the monitor.

“You’re
looking well,” Veda said.

“Thanks,”
Valis said. “The mission was successful. Given the nature of the next battle I
wanted to scout ahead and get the data myself. Now that I have I’ll make a few
changes to the original.”

“Are
any major?” Esra asked.

“No
old friend, just a few adjustments,” Valis said before looking at the monitor.
“I’d like you to change your targets to the second, third and fourth orbital
towers.”

“Is
there a reason?” Vikrit asked.

“The
rebels have enough to not only aid in the attack but take the first orbital
tower,” Valis explained.

“Really?”
he asked.

“With
three hundred Talons and Dreka leading them they should have little trouble,”
Valis said. “Other than that your mission is the same Admiral Vikrit.”

“I’ve
noted the changes,” Vikrit said.

Valis
looked at the others. “Our changes are minimal. The five special models will
strike the enemy’s orbital bases near the first tower. The base and its ships
will fight the Gold navy.”

“Is
the attack still going to take less than an hour?” Kivi asked.

“The
key to victory is ending things quickly,” Valis said. “While we attack those in
orbit our friends on the ground will sack the king’s palace.”

“I
like it,” Brian said.

“Aggressive
and elegant,” Veda said. “I’d expect nothing less from you Valis.”

“Thank
you,” Valis said, “Now onto the details.”

* * *

Zaris
walked at a furious pace in his palace all night until he found himself back in
the throne room. His advisors still ran about not knowing what to do about
anything. Irritation filled his eyes as the guards did the same. Another series
of attacks and uprisings filled the monitors around the room. After an hour of
watching the terrible scene he sat down on the throne with his pike across his
lap.

“To
live in hell is my life,” he said under his breath. “The life of a king is
solitary, both in power and reality.”

“Did
you say something my lord?” one of his guards asked.

“No
you fool,” Zaris said. “I was talking to the wind.”

“Sorry
my lord,” the guard said.

Zaris
pulled a coin from his belt pocket and looked at the two sides.
Fifty
percent isn’t much, but I’ve beaten worse odds. I have to come out on top; it’s
my destiny to win.
He carefully wrapped the coin in cloth and tied it on
both sides before flipping it in the air.
Heads, I win.
He thought as
the coin fell back into his hand. Without looking he pushed the coin back into
his belt pouch.
I gambled my way to the throne, and so I gamble on my life.
I won’t let you have your way Grigon. You haven’t won yet.

* * *

Seles
and Mira took a break from working with their mobile suits to eat a snack with
Jesela. The food consisted of nuts and dried fruits from Odair Prime.

“Do
you think we’ll get some time off after this?” Mira asked.

“I
doubt it,” Jesela.

“You’re
probably right,” Seles said.

“I’d
really like some of old Grig’s cooking,” Mira said.

“He
makes the best, no matter what species you are,” Jesela said.

The
door opened and the three saw Kyli. She looked both ways before running inside
and sitting with them.

“He’s
giving you a hard time again, isn’t he?” Seles asked.

Kyli
sighed after taking a drink of water. “It’s his way.”

“How’s
it possible Tctie likes you?” Jesela asked. “I know I’ve asked that question
before.”

“Insectoids
have a powerful hive mentality,” Mira said. “It has its drawbacks, but it shows
he’s loyal to us.”

“The
others have a hard time dealing with him,” Kyli said. “When we’re in battle his
way of talking works perfectly, it’s concise and to the point. But outside of
combat it’s unnerving.”

“Tctie
has a way of looking into you in ways even you can’t understand,” Seles said.

“I
think the two of you are overreacting to this,” Mira said. “There’s nothing
wrong with him. You just need to get to know him better.”

“Are
you saying you’ve talked to him?” Jesela asked.

“Of
course,” Mira said. “He approached me after one of my performances to praise
Kalaidian style music. When I asked him about his people he hummed a strange
hymn with those chitins of his. It was haunting and sad in a way I could never
understand. When I asked him about it he told me it was to mourn his lost
brethren. Ever since then I’ve looked at him differently. He doesn’t look like
us when he expresses emotions, but they are there.” She paused to take a sip of
water. “He also told me about his life before joining Heaven’s Light. It was a
life of slavery filled with despair. Even though he was treated as such he felt
nothing but affection for his hive.”

“I
didn’t know that,” Kyli said.

“Not
many do,” Mira said. “When we look at him all we see is the insect. We see
nothing of the person inside. Tctie is a strong man who lived through hell just
to be here. He never forgets those he meets along the way, especially those who
wronged him.”

“When
I interviewed him I wasn’t concerned with the past, I focused only on his
skills,” Jesela said. “I feel bad I didn’t mine a little deeper.”

“It’s
understandable Jesela,” Seles said. “It takes years to build trust in others.
Only when you trust someone can you tell the truth about yourself.”

* * *

Brian
sat alone in the Freedom’s HDC with a campfire blazing in front of him. The
scenery was a forest from Earth he often used. Myden stepped out of the shadows
and sat down across from him. Brian closed his eyes and opened his mind.

“I
don’t need that,” Myden said. “I’ve grown fond of speaking with you.”

“Tell
me Myden, what was the Teacher like?”

“You’ve
met him so you should know,” Myden said.

“I
don’t mean like that, I mean as the person who lived,” he said.

Myden
stared into the fire for a while to gather his thoughts. The flickering light
reflected off his black eyes. “He was a man filled with regret. In his life he
sought peace but never found it. Even though he’d sworn off war it still
infected his soul. One night on Earth he was torn so much my brethren felt his
thoughts from orbit. They were scouting the Earth and the humans developing on
it. When they felt his honest yearning they couldn’t help but land and see who
he was. After that, his story was much like yours. He traveled the stars in
search of his utopia.”

“It
seems like all of us are searching for it,” Brian said. “The dream I have is happiness
for as many as can be done. As long as I believe I can make a difference I’ll
continue fighting.”

“It’s
a good dream,” Myden said.

The
door opened to reveal Seles, Mira, Jesela, and Kyli. Seles ran over to them
while Mira followed with a walk.

“You
two aren’t going to stay in here again, are you?” Seles asked.

“I
do have a performance in less than an hour,” Mira said.

Brian
smiled as he stood. “I’d love to come.”

Myden
spun his staff as he stood. “Normally I opt out of things like this but I’ll
join you.”

“I’m
glad you two are coming,” Seles said.

Zaris
was surrounded by guards and advisors in his throne room. The monitors showed
the space directly around the homeworld. In the distance their scanners
detected the Columbia base approaching from one side of the planet while the
Silver navy and Sicily base approached from the other. Admiral Shakar was on
the throne’s small monitor. Outside the palace a number of Talons were
positioned as guards. The capital city of the Malcovin people was silent at the
moment when the king looked to his troops.

“All
Talons on the surface are to guard the orbital towers,” Zaris said. “All
remaining squads are to change their venue to the main palace. This battle will
determine the fate of our people. Will we live as we always have? Or will the
conqueror from Terra Prime have his way? Because the High Council didn’t have
the strength to stop him it’s up to us to set things right. We will drive these
tyrants from our lands and purify ourselves afterwards. Long live Malcov!”

“Long
live Malcov!” his soldiers shouted. “Long live King Zaris!”

* * *

Dreka
sat in the cockpit of his Talon with his hands on the controls. He and two
hundred female pilots were already at the first orbital tower. With their phase
cloaks up they waited for the signal to attack. His monitor flashed and showed
Seka on the other side.

“It’s
almost time Dreka,” she said.

“Everyone’s
in position,” Dreka said.

“How
about we make a chick or two after this?” Seka offered.

Dreka
cawed before laughing. “I thought you didn’t like me anymore.”

“That’s
because you travel too much,” she said.

“I’ll
still be traveling a lot after this,” Dreka said. “But if you’re alright with
that I’ll provide the necessary materials.”

“You
make it sound so mechanical,” Seka said.

“We’re
not mammals, so there’s no fun in it,” Dreka said. He noticed the cold stare
she gave him. “Alright, the fun is in raising children.”

“Now
you get it,” Seka said before cawing. “By the way, the attack will begin in a
few seconds.”

“I’m
on it,” Dreka said.

From
inside the orbital tower a number of timed explosions opened up the main shaft
leading to orbit. Before the smoke cleared Dreka led the mobile suits inside
and destroyed any Talons in their way. Then they flew as fast as they could to
the top of the tower.

* * *

The
throne room was awash with fear as the rebels attacked the orbital tower. Zaris
watched the incident closely.

“My
lord, there’s nothing we can do to stop them!” one of his guard leaders
shouted. “They’re going to seize the tower.”

“I
can see that,” Zaris said. “No matter, when the battle’s over all we have to do
is cut off the power.”

“I
planned for this ahead of time,” Shakar said. “If we must we can destroy it.”

“Only
if we have to,” Zaris said.

A
moment later the palace shook as a hundred Talons launched an attack on it. The
defending mobile suits moved out to meet them.

“Sir,
what should we do?” the guard leader asked.

“Strike
them down and bring their heads to me,” Zaris ordered. “Defend this place to
your dying breath, you hear me!”

“Yes
my lord,” his soldiers said.

* * *

Vikrit
and Daekon were in the command center of the Sicily base as the Silver fleet
approached Malcov Prime in attack formation. The ten ships in the base’s dock
moved outside and created a defensive bubble. Afterwards, four hundred Talons
and a hundred Lance Phalanxes launched from the base and joined the ships.

“Sir,
we’re detecting a lot of activity around the first orbital tower,” Daekon
reported.

Vikrit
cawed. “Of course, Dreka’s laying down the law on them right now. In a few
minutes we’ll begin our attack. We just need to wait for the signal.”

“What’s
the signal?” Daekon asked.

“When
the orbital defense network is disabled we’ll move in,” the admiral said.

* * *

The
Columbia base approached the planet. As they came closer they saw a massive
number of Malcovin ships in orbit. The six ships left the dock and deployed
their mobile weapons while the reserves on the base did likewise. Five points
of light streaked to the front as the Maidens flew together. Valis stared at
the enemy formation before turning her com on to speak with the other four.

“We
should be getting the signal any minute now,” Valis said. “Once their defense
system is down our chances of coming out of this multiply by a factor of five.
Our first target will be their orbital garrisons. Our friends will deal with
the fleet.”

“They
have a lot of ships,” Mira said.

“It’s
a good thing Admiral Vikrit is on our side,” Celi said. “Otherwise I’d say this
mission would be impossible.”

“Not
impossible,” Kivi said, “But a hell of lot more difficult.”

“I
can’t fire that many arrows,” Seles said.

“That’s
why we worked to get this far,” Valis said. “Our organization has a military
force smaller than any planet’s. We have to make up our deficiencies by being
ahead of the game.”

“These
mobile suits really help,” Mira said. “Without them we’d have to fight the old
fashioned way.”

“If
we’re not careful they’ll catch up to us,” Valis said.

“It’s
not like you to sound so cautious,” Kivi remarked.

“We
all grow a little with time Kivi, that’s all,” Valis said. “Alright, let’s move
into formation.

“Yes
Valis,” the other four said.

The
Aegis moved to the middle as the Artemis and Gemini moved to the front. The
Minerva and Siren moved into the rear guard.

* * *

Brian,
Myden, Jesela, and the four droids were on the bridge of the Freedom while the
two sides postured against each other. Brian finished what he was doing and
began pacing around the bridge.

“For
a captain I never see you sit in that chair,” Jesela said.

“Your
energy’s rubbing off on me,” Brian said.

“I
think it’s the tea you’ve been drinking lately,” Myden said.

“That’ll
do it as well,” Brian said. “One of the things I missed the most from Earth was
having a cup of coffee in the morning. I’m glad I found an excellent
substitute.”

“I
can’t believe you drink that stuff right when you wake up,” Jesela said.
“What’s more surprising is it doesn’t mess with you like it does to
Kalaidians.” She looked at Myden. “I don’t even want to know what it does to
you.”

“Any
drug or chemical has a tendency to tamper with our telepathic power,” Myden
said. “Caffeine makes us hyper aware of the thoughts of others and can cause
psychosis.”

“We
should get back to focusing on the battle,” Brian said.

“Of
course,” Myden said. “All weapons systems are functioning normally.”

“All
shields and drive systems are the same,” Jesela said.

“Communications
are functioning perfectly,” Droid A reported.

“All
other periphery systems are the same,” Droid B said.

After
a moment of silence Brian shook his head. “Maybe I shouldn’t kill the small
talk like that.”

* * *

Veda,
Reban, and Shiken Ka attended their stations in the command center. Both inside
and outside the base the activity level went from a storm to calm as the battle
approached.

“I
hate this part,” Veda said.

“The
waiting is always the hardest part,” Shiken said.

“For
so much build up I’m surprised Valis thinks we can finish this in less than an
hour,” Veda said.

Reban
turned to them. “We’ve received the signal. Our allies have taken the first
orbital tower and have disabled their defense network.”

“All
units prepare to attack,” Veda said.