Chapter 130 – The Rebellion

[Comrades, it’s been a tough year for all of us, but we are making good progress. Despite the setbacks, achieving our goals is something that will not happen in a single day. Remember our motto!] ‘Bonfire’ clenched her fist.

“Equality starts with a fire!” The cell leaders shouted back in unison.

[Good. I have already read all your personally written reports and understand your issues fully. Future assignments and operations will be allocated with your circumstances in mind. Remember the goal of the rebellion – to remove the Five Families from power and establish a democracy, where the people are ruled by the people.]

The cell leaders all nodded, including the ‘White Fang’. Each of the cell leaders had been personally vetted by ‘Bonfire’ herself and all of them had been directly hurt by the Five Families. If there’s one thing that the cell leaders could trust in together, it was their shared hatred for the Five Families.

[I predict a coming war in the near future. The Five Families are becoming more brazen in their movements, accelerating the Relocation Program and other nefarious projects. Their political strength in the Consortium is growing day by day. The unification of the planet is near.]

Many of the cell leaders grimaced. The unification of the planet under the Consortium would mean that New Saint enforcers would be officially upgraded to planetary enforcers. This meant the rebellion could no longer hide out in the independent outposts and towns all over the planet.

[This means they no doubt have an end goal or a deadline in sight. Our main patron has provided good information that the deadline seems to be two and a half years from now. Before that deadline, we must discover what the Five Families are planning for Athen.] Bonfire concluded.

[It’s obvious] ‘Dark Exterior’ replied, standing up. [The objective was always to destroy the economy of Athen while siphoning the extra funds before jumping onto another world. It’s no hidden fantasy that the Five Families dream of becoming a lesser noble house in the Loeric Empire. It seems they intend to use the entire planet as leverage once unified.]

‘Sliver Ring’ shook his head in return, disagreeing with ‘Dark Exterior’.

[Impossible, the Loeric Dynasty would never allow owners who tarnished their own world to become nobles. If they had such a plan, they would have destroyed the economy long ago, but yet new facilities and funds keep flowing into Athen, which runs counter to your point.]

Each of the cell leaders began to give their thoughts on what they assumed was the end goal of the Five Families. However, they were all limited by their regional perspective – “Dark Exterior” was limited to his side of the outer zones, “Fresh Plants” only focused on the smaller surface towns beyond the city, while “Sliver Ring” used movement in the spaceport to make his deductions.

‘Bonfire’ suddenly pointed towards the ‘White Fang’. [You haven’t said a word about any of this yet. What’s your opinion?]

Among the cell leaders, the ‘White Fang’ was one of the rare few who was part of the original members. Despite the cell leaders’ worries about the allocation of resources to finding the Martyr, they all still respected him for his early contributions to the cause.

“I did not join the rebellion to figure out what the enemy wants to do. My primary objective is to save our people and other innocent citizens. I’ll leave the deciphering to you guys.”

[Hmm.] Bonfire nodded quietly before the discussion resumed again. It became a lot more hectic, as the cell leaders clearly differed on what they assumed was the Five Families’ goal.

Sierra did not look too happy at the sight of this rowdy shouting match between the cell leaders, her feet shifting slightly while she stood behind the ‘White Fang’, keeping the minutes of the meeting.

Bonfire held up her hand, and the meeting room immediately became silent, bringing an end to the discussion. [Your viewpoints have been noted. We will analyze the highest probabilities and assign tasks accordingly. However, do not let your viewpoints skew your attitude or attention to everything. Anything is possible.]

[Moving on, the ceasefire submitted by the slovesa may prove to be dangerous for us as well.] Bonfire continued speaking. [With the reduction of military forces at the border, more soldiers and fleets will be returning home, most notably the fleets under General Kyle Hawthorn, who is stationed at Strathon. This means we will be under heavy scrutiny, and that ]

A ‘space weather’ map of the local star system appeared in the middle of the room, showing the belts and zones of high radiation. [We have been working hard over the last few months to restore our starships ever since our last operation…]

[You mean the one the ‘White Fang’ botched?] ‘Sliver Ring’ smirked. He was one of the brand-new cell leaders, so he naturally held no respect for the older generation, thinking that they were the reason why the rebellion is faltering.

[No one is to be blamed for anything here. You may be new here, but I hope you keep your temper and attitude under control.] Bonfire said calmly, but it shut “Sliver Ring” up right away.

[A new set of ships along with weaponry will be entering via the Beyond – the exact landing coordinates will be revealed at a later date. We are working on securing another launch site beyond the city to bring crew up there – please send me a list of all space-trained members you may have under you.]

“Do we have any?” The ‘White Fang’ asked Sierra privately.

“No sir, we’re a through and through the underground cell. Most of our recruits come from the impoverished outer zones or the exiled criminals in Rockhold, so it’s very unlikely they have space training. I will do another search through.”

“Good, we need to muster enough people together to control at least one ship.” The ‘White Fang’ replied while eyeing the cell leader of the spaceport – ‘Sliver Ring’ – who had an obviously joyful expression on his face.

Seeing as he was the cell leader of the spaceport, it’s no doubt then that he would be the main force in providing crew members to the ships. The ‘White Fang’ groaned, rubbing his temples as he foresaw a future headache.

[Another interesting piece of information has been retrieved – the whereabouts and details of the high-security prison, Haui’s Moon, have finally been discovered. Many of our potential recruits and sympathizers have been held there. This will require the coordination of multiple cells due to the size of the operation. Prepare yourself – details will be sent personally.]

Suddenly, Sierra’s multi-terminal beeped with a message, causing the ‘White Fang’s head to turn quickly

“Your multi-terminal only beeps when there is either an emergency or a high-value target.” The ‘White Fang’ said. Sierra was in charge of recruiting, logistics and human resources, so she naturally had a network of informants picking up on potential candidates.

“You should focus on the meeting, sir, it’s just one of our recruiters just mentioned an unknown exosuit designer who managed to pull off a draw against the Mirage Gunner.”

“Tell me the name.”

“Erm… 17 Dumplings..? That’s a weird name.” Madam Sierra wondered if the report was genuine or if it was a joke, but the ‘White Fang’ suddenly shot up from his seat.

“Apologies, but there is a critical emergency occurring now in Rockhold, I will have to temporarily leave now.” He quickly shut down the communication console, walking out of the room briskly while Madam Sierra hurriedly followed after.

“Sir, what’s wrong?” Madam Sierra asked as they stormed all the way to the garage.

“Assemble twenty soldiers to form a squad and follow after me, I’ll be leaving first.” The ‘White Fang’ said as he broke into a run, immediately yelling at a nearby technician to open the garage door, before quickly hopping into a hovercar and driving out of the garage.

***

A loud knock could be heard on the workshop’s door. Ceres smiled to himself. “Well, they’ve finally come. Time to get my answers. At least they have the courtesy to knock.”

However, instead of the expected rebel soldiers being there, it was a group of members from the Queen’s Guards! Julia and Saater both waltzed in after Ceres opened the door for them, stunning him.

“It’s not what you think, you’re not in trouble. The Queen would like to personally meet you, 17 Dumplings. Honestly, I thought your nickname was going to be the ‘Black Fang’ or something. I had pegged you as a ‘White Fang’ fanboy from the get-go.”

Ceres froze for a moment but didn’t let it phase him. It did not occur to him that his self-designed mask was perceived to be related to the ‘White Fang’.

“Oh, when? I may not be free to visit the Queen. You see, I’m still waiting for another appointment…” Ceres tried to buy time as he watched the Queen’s Guards members start to encircle him.

“Now would be best. You do know no one declines a meeting with the Queen right? It’s one of her golden rules in Rockhold.” Julia smiled, while Saater barely said a word, still fuming and staring intently at Ceres.

Ceres quickly considered his options. If he started a fight here he would definitely have to reveal his abilities. Was the Queen’s Guards working with the enforcers? Were there cameras or sensors out that could track him? Due to these considerations, he had no choice but to play along. For now.

“Of course, I would love to meet the Queen.” Ceres smiled meekly, before following the escort group out of the workshop.

They quickly navigated the hallways, walking past a few arena cleaners who stared at Ceres in wonder. They then exited the arena towards a parking lot, where a few hovercars with the Queen’s Guards logo labelled on their doors and bonnet. “Stylish,” Ceres muttered to himself.

“HEY, who the hell are you guys? You can’t just take my best exosuit designer!” Saul yelled as he ran after them, panting hard until he saw the logo of the Queen’s Guards and the piercing glare of Julia before quickly backpedalling. “Ah yes of course, please feel free to take him. It will be nice if he returns in time for next month, I have a few ideas in mind…”

Julia ignored him, leading Ceres to a hovercar designed like a limousine. Upon entering the passenger side, Ceres was not surprised to find Niko there as well. Seems like Julia was working hard as a recruiter.

“Good fight kid, you like the exosuit?”

Instead of Niko replying, the boy reached forward to hug Ceres tightly. “Thank you, thank you so much! I can’t believe everything that is happening now! I can’t wait to bring my family into the Queen’s Tower.”

“You mean getting kidnapped by the Queen’s Guards?”

“Huh? They told me they wanted to recruit me!”

“That’s the same thing, isn’t it? Read the contract carefully, and always protect yourself first. You didn’t answer my question about liking the exosuit though.” Ceres sat down on the comfortable limousine seats.

“Well… erm… your exosuit did help me win the fight, but it was a bit jittery. The impulse thrusters were way too strong too!”

“Huh, worked fine when I tested it,” Ceres mumbled to himself, realizing that he had been using his own body and feeling when testing the thrusters on his own legs using another prototype. He made a note to himself to consider the user’s perspective when designing for somebody else.

He had already made an exosuit for someone else before, but that was Halyon’s and he already had a blueprint to follow.

“It all worked out in the end, now you’re going to work for the Queen! Maybe you’ll get a better exosuit designer to improve the Solar Glint.” Ceres tried to cover up the flaws of his first true design, laughing nervously.

Saater suddenly entered the passenger seat too, sitting opposite Ceres while the door closed and the hovercar began to lift off with Julia in the front passenger seat. He had already finished his event for the day, so he came along as he was extremely curious about the exosuit designer and boy who managed to fight him to a draw.

Both Julia and Saater looked at each other, nodding. They knew that ’17 Dumplings’ was no one simple, so they readied their personal weapons in case anything went wrong. However, they weren’t too on guard – how could a measly exosuit designer fight the two of them off if he wanted to escape?

“Ma’am, ready to begin whenever you are.” The driver turned back to face Julia.

Julia nodded. The remaining hovercars lifted off at the same time, flying through the air in a line formation, heading towards the Queen’s tower!

He stared silently at Ceres and Niko, who both became a bit creeped out at the constant staring. Ceres tried to avoid Saater’s stare, fumbling around with the drink dispenser. “Wow, they got everything in here other than water huh.”

“How did you do it?” Saater suddenly asked.

“Huh? Do what?”

“How did you design your exosuit to detect me?”

“I didn’t do anything, it was all the boy’s instinct.”

“Don’t try to lie to me, I know that kid isn’t transcendent, and the same thing happened two days ago with the battle royale. If he was, the Council would be here in an instant to grab him.”

Ceres smiled nervously, wondering how he should explain it when suddenly Julia’s voice wafted in from the front. “You don’t have to explain anything to the sore loser, 17 Dumplings.”

Saater suddenly lunged forward to grab Ceres by the arm, squeezing it hard. “You WILL tell me how you did it! I still don’t know how I lost! You made a change to all the exosuits that the other fighters used as well. TELL ME!”

“SAATER! Let him go.” Julia shouted from the front before Saater realized he was using his full strength on Ceres’s arm and quickly let go. However, Ceres didn’t say a word of complaint, nor did he even rub his arm in pain or anything. Instead, he stared at Saater, his mask hiding his expression.

“Wow, you’re really curious huh,” Ceres muttered after a while, before turning to stare out of the window of the hovercar. “If the Queen treats me well, I’ll think about it.”

Saater eyed Ceres suspiciously, noting the lack of reaction from Ceres. “Who are you?”

“17 Dumplings, it was all over the speakers.”

“I mean which gang are you…” Saater barely finished his sentence when a sudden impact shook the hovercar before it began to dip dangerously.

A single armour-piercing round blew through the bottom of the hovercar, ripping through the driver from the ass up along his spine. The force shattered the driver’s door, as the howling wind began to roar inside the hovercar.

[Driver deceased – commencing autopilot] The hovercar’s AI took over as the mutilated driver fell out of the hovercar through the destroyed hovercar’s front door.

“Activate combat mode!” Julia yelled over the howling wind as the hovercar formation continued soaring towards the Queen’s Tower. The escort hovercars began to fan out in a formation underneath them, preventing any further shots from the ground, though they could not cover every area.

A barrage of anti-air fire suddenly enveloped the hovercar formation, but the escort hovercars had already deployed a hemispherical forcefield facing downwards, blocking the rain of bullets from hitting them directly.

[3 o’clock, incoming aerial exosuits!]

“Shit! Who the hell still dare to attack us now?!” Saater cursed as he and Julia both grabbed energy rifles under their seats, ready to fight back. Saater got Ceres and Niko to strap into their seats before rolling down the window and taking potshots at the incoming aerial exosuit squadron!

They numbered two dozen, but the exosuits deftly dodged the incoming shots even as the escort hovercars fired upon them too.

Barely more than two of them were hit and dropped out of the skies, while the rest immediately split up and headed for different hovercars, landing on their roof before magnetically locking their boots to the hovercar and carving their way through with a laser cutter.

The escort hovercars’ drivers tried to shake them off, but they had to maintain the forcefield facing downwards else the barrage of anti-air fire from the ground would hit them hard!

“Two minutes till reinforcements arrive! Protect them!” Julia shouted at Saater, who nodded just as three aerial exosuits landed on their hovercar’s roof, carving through. Saater readied his rifle, but deep down he was unsure of how much he could really do without his exosuit! “I shouldn’t have taken it off…”

Niko trembled, gripping Ceres’s clothes as tightly as he could. “What… what’s happening?! I didn’t sign up for this!”

“Relax kid, it’ll be fine.” Ceres did not show any reaction, instead just staring at the roof of the hovercar.

Saater grunted as he tried to shoot through the hovercar roof at the aerial exosuit, but his shots couldn’t penetrate the car! An electromagnetic pulse suddenly arced through the car – disabling the autopilot and forcing Julia to quickly clamber over to the driver seat to grab manual control, keeping the hovercar barely afloat.

“Get off my car!” Julia roared as she swung the hovercar wildly, but the aerial exosuits were magnetically fixed onto the roof. Even when the hovercar did a barrel roll, the aerial exosuit was hardly fazed, seemingly already prepared for such a scenario.

A circle was carved quickly before the cutout portion dropped into the hovercar with a thud, along with two of the aerial exosuit attackers. Without a word, they immediately aimed their pistols at the cowering Niko and Ceres, about to pull the trigger.

Saater was not prepared, being too slow to aim at them with his own rifle, but it did not matter, because the two attackers did not shoot.

Instead, they stood frozen in place, seemingly afraid of something as beads of sweat rolled down their shivering exposed faces.

Saater quickly took advantage and immediately fired rapid shots at the two of them, burning a hole through both their right arms, and forcing them to drop the pistols and collapse on the floor in pain.

Instead of coming in through the hole, the third aerial exosuit instead threw a smoke grenade into the car, which began to emit a sort of purplish smoke as it tumbled about the floor. “Shit, sleeping gas!” Saater yelled as he tried to reach for the grenade that had dropped on the writhing two bodies.

However, one of the fallen attackers grabbed Saater and wrestled him despite his bleeding burnt right arm, blocking Saater from throwing the grenade out of the car.

Soon, everyone in the car began to fall fast asleep, including Julia who was at the wheel.

Her head banged against the wheel as the hovercar began to make a deep dive as the third aerial exosuit attacker disengaged from the hovercar, letting it fall.