The Last Revolution

by Carpenter, R. T.

  He walked towards the back of the facility and the way he’d originally arrived. A sense of purpose washed over his body. He’d been beaten, but that wouldn’t happen again. Capturing Khasim was his ticket to Alden. He’d do anything to complete this mission. The Guardian had once said he couldn’t focus on the larger picture. That wouldn’t be a problem anymore. He would protect the millions of innocents, and no one would get in his way. And once his mission was done he’d have his revenge, for himself and for her. The end was near, but not for him.

  Chapter 9

  It was hard for Alden to see. Despite his size, he was lost in a sea of clothes, guns, and boots. Distant screams came from every direction. It felt like a dam had burst and they were a wild river that crashed through everything in its path. General Stone was somewhere in front of him.

  They finally emerged into the resistance stronghold under Apollo City. People were celebrating as far as the eye could see. The room was filled with music, drinks, and embraces. Their arrival was greeted by thunderous applause. Colonists on every level cheered and cried. Small amounts of confetti streamed down from above. Alden had never seen anything like it before.

  General Stone led the victorious group forward. A path appeared through the revelers. The colonists crammed in on both sides as they tried to glimpse the legendary man. Others reached out to touch his jacket. They needed to know he was real. The residents on either side of the lane took it upon themselves to try and hold the crowd back. Stone shook their hands as he moved further into the room. They believed he was going to lead them all to freedom.

  Alden had to admit, the man’s presence was magnetic, but the colonists were placing inhuman expectations on him. He remembered the stories he’d been told as a boy—General Stone had won the battle of Helsinki on his own, with just a rifle and handgun. If the stories were that outlandish on Earth, he could only imagine what they’d told kids up here.

  Alden realized he hadn’t seen anyone from the other team. The last thing he remembered was the explosion along the outer wall of Traterous. Hundreds of people flowed around him, but there was only one he cared about.

  One of the soldiers that had stayed behind in case they failed walked past. Alden grabbed his arm. “Has the second team arrived yet?”

  The man just stared at him in disbelief. “Haven’t you heard?”

  “Heard what?” There was the faintest tremble in his voice.

  The man sighed. “After the attack, the Council soldiers at Traterous bombed every tunnel they could find. No one’s heard from them in over an hour.”

  Time slowed, it wasn’t possible. Alden pushed through the crowd towards the tunnels that went out under the surface. There had already been so much loss in his life, he wouldn’t accept any more.

  A sound cut through the darkness and pushed back at the suffocating pain. He looked up and saw Kira moving towards him through the crowd. The room came back to life, filled with color, noise, and smells. It was as if all the joy in the world flooded back in. She jumped into his arms. He grabbed her, and pressed their bodies together. She leaned down and kissed him with a passion he’d never felt before.

  Warmth, energy and vigor coursed through his veins. His heart beat a million times a second. He wanted to stand in that moment forever, feeling the passion that surged through them and the sweet taste of her lips. She pulled back and looked in his eyes. “We did it.”

  Alden nodded. “We got him.”

  He set Kira down. Nearby, thousands of people pushed forward, trying to glimpse the legend. The word of their success must have been spreading quickly.

  Alden looked back at Kira, “They said the tunnels had been bombed.”

  “When our blast didn’t knock them out, they threw everything they had at us. Heavy artillery, tanks, mechs—we retreated as fast as we could. We lost a lot of people in the initial fire fight. There was no way we were going to win. We gave your team as much time as possible before dropping back. Once they started bombing the tunnels it turned into pure chaos. Everyone was split up. Some of us made it back, but dozens more are still missing…”

  He held her close. She must’ve needed the touch too because she pressed tight to his chest, sighed and rested against his shoulder.

  Several hours later, Alden found himself buried amongst the crowd. Kira, Liam and the rest of the group had sent him off to get another round of drinks. He pushed through a cluster of people up to the makeshift bar. As he set their glasses down, his wrist deck blinked to life. The anonymous friend must have responded to his request. He’d wanted to know the implications of Stone’s rescue.

  Stone’s freedom moves the world closer to war. It also speeds up Alexander’s return.

  Alden responded, What about the reactor?

  It was his turn in line. Alden stepped forward, pressed the handle down and filled each of the glasses. Another message: hasn’t appeared on black market. still looking. use extreme caution. reactor involved in crisis.

  Alden lifted the glasses from the bar. Beer and foam splashed about with every near miss as he weaved through the crowd.

  The message repeated over and over in his mind as he moved. use extreme caution, reactor involved in crisis. Great.

  Moments later, he found Kira, Liam, Callisto, and Solana sitting together and laughing so hard that Liam nearly fell out of his chair.

  “Sounds like you had a bit of trouble getting up here,” Callisto quipped.

  Alden shrugged. “It was nothing. I will say that she’s pretty handy in a tight spot.”

  “So are you,” Solana joined in. “I don’t think we ever would have made it out of Traterous without you and that suit.”

  “Well then…” Callisto held up his glass. “To Kira and Alden—helping us accomplish the impossible.”

  Everyone raised their glasses in celebration before taking a big sip.

  “You know who should be here celebrating with us?” Liam spoke up. “General Stone. What happened to him?”

  “He disappeared shortly after we returned,” Solana responded.

  “After being gone for so long, he at least deserves a beer!” Callisto said.

  Liam smiled. “If it was me, I’d need to take the longest piss of my life.”

  “Or soak in the shower for days on end,” added Solana. “That cryo-freeze has to wreck your skin!”

  “Considering the way he went out, the only thing I’d be thinking of is revenge.”

  Kira nodded. “There’s going to be hell to pay. If the stories are true, a man like that won’t take betrayal well.”

  Alden felt the heavy undertones of the comments weighing him down. They were changing the trajectory of history.

  “Attention!” A booming voice slowed everything to a stop.

  Stone stood on the second level looking down at the crowd. He was surrounded by Thereon and several other rebel fighters.

  “It is good to see all of you again.”

  The crowd broke into a rapturous applause.

  “I’ve been brought up to speed on the events of the last few decades and we will not let the Council’s transgressions go unpunished!” More applause. “I’ve also been informed that we lost a number of brave soldiers in the rescue. Let us drink to their memory. And to the families of those men and women, you have my eternal gratitude.

  “This is not the end, merely the end of the beginning. We won a great victory today and shook the Council to their core. We’ve proved our strength and reminded them of their vulnerability. Sadly their malicious intent will drive them to even greater heights. Whatever illusion of peace and stability that existed is gone. They will not hesitate, they will show no mercy, and their retribution will be absolute. Our worlds, ideals, and values are on a collision course from which there is no escape.

  “We ventured into the stars to build a better life. One that was free of the misguided ideologies of the Three Nations and the Council. Our virtues are grounded in the pursuit of enlightenment, self-determination, and freedom. The
y think we are weak, and will bow down at the first sign of conflict. I swear to you now, we will never surrender to them. You are the hardest, most determined group of people I’ve ever known. We will not let them oppress us any longer! We will not let them take our families, kill our friends, and destroy everything we hold to be just in this world!”

  Rapturous applause cascaded across the room. People wiped tears from their eyes, and hugged loved ones. For once in their lives, the stories had been true. His new friends handled the moment more stoically than those around them, but he knew what this meant to them. From the outside, Stone appeared to be everything they’d hoped for. This was no longer the divided group Alden had heard about on the Island.

  “We started with the best of intentions, giving the Three Nations and the Council everything they asked for. But it wasn’t enough. It was never enough! How dare they tell us what we can and can’t do? We produce the helium that keeps their civilizations alive. We should be the ones giving orders, not the other way around! When the helium stops flowing, we’ll watch as their empires fall apart around them. Tonight, I ask you to decide what you believe in, for a great and terrible struggle is upon us.

  “If you are not up to the fight, then I advise you to leave. Seek shelter and protection wherever you can, because they will show us no mercy. To those who decide to remain, we will stand and fight! They don’t know the colonies like we do. This is our home, not some foreign land to be conquered and controlled. We’ll show them the strength of our convictions, that we won’t be bullied, threatened, or forced into servitude any longer! We will take back what is ours!”

  Kira whistled and applauded along with the rest of the audience. The pit Alden felt in his stomach before the Traterous mission returned. His original intention had been to find Alexander, kill him, and return to the Council.Instead he found himself in a frenzy of revolutionary euphoria. He had to find a way to avoid the armed conflict Stone described. It would be a protracted war that would claim many lives, especially those currently in the room.

  “I’ve been in communication with the leaders of every resistance movement on Luna. They share your concerns, fears and aspirations. They wanted me to convey a message. You do not stand alone! They will help us carry this burden, shoulder to shoulder. For the first time, New Tranquility, Prebeo, New Beijing and Apollo City are united in a shared defense of our world. We will take back what was ours, and remake the world as we want it!”

  A growing thunder of applause, determination and joy erupted across the cavernous room once more.

  “Sleep well my friends, everything changes tomorrow!”

  Alden was caught off guard by the sight of Kira wiping the smallest tear from her eye. She caught his look and quickly acted as if nothing was wrong. She smiled and leaned over to give him a kiss.

  General Stone and the other soldiers vanished once more. The mood had increased dramatically, even compared to the moments of their arrival. Alden realized that for the first time, people felt something they had never felt before: hope.

  Kira reached out and grabbed his hand, kissing one of his fingers. She stood and pulled him along. They weaved through the euphoric crowd back to Alden’s room. She tore off her flight suit and threw it to the ground. She was so alive. He ran his hand down her sides, feeling the soft curvature of her body. They ferociously kissed each other and she jumped up into his arms, wrapping her legs around his waist. Kira playfully bit at his lip as they walked over to the bed. He threw her down, and then fell on top of her.

  Several hours later the room was completely quiet and Kira was fast asleep. Alden tossed and turned under the sheets. The memories were always the worst when there was nothing to occupy his mind. He could still sense the sweet, warm feeling of the afternoon showers on the island.

  He stepped outside; there was still a faint drizzle in the air. He didn’t have an umbrella, but it didn’t really matter. After countless hours in class, the weather made him feel alive. The entire campus was bustling as students walked to class between periods.

  He started past a group of boys when one of them leaned their shoulder out and smacked into him, pushing him off the path.

  “Murderer,” they whispered. The group laughed and continued on.

  Anger rose in his veins. Like he didn’t know it was his fault they were gone? He had been living through hell since the funerals. He stormed back onto the path and continued towards class.

  One of the girls who sat next to him in Strategy gave him a dirty look as she passed. He glanced down at his feet, unable to handle the expression of disgust.

  Screw everyone.

  He glanced up just in time to the see another person as he bumped into them. “Watch where you’re going!” Alden snapped.

  The individual turned around. Of everyone on campus, it had to be Gabriel. They hadn’t said a word to each other since the mission. Gabriel was flanked by a half-dozen other guys. Alden had tried to reach out to him several times. He had tried to grab him before a class, or catch him in the hall. He wanted to apologize for everything that had happened. Each time was the same. He’d just pretend like Alden hadn’t said anything and continue on his way.

  Standing there on the wet path with Gabriel, he wasn’t sure what to say anymore. Students had formed a circle around them. The other guys he’d been with urged him to throw a punch.

  “Kick his ass!”

  Alden stepped back and raised his hands. “I don’t want to fight you.”

  Gabriel just stared at him with a cold, dead look in his eyes. He made no attempts to talk or communicate. How was he supposed to handle this? After what he’d gone through on Hyperion, he didn’t want to hurt him.

  Gabriel approached. Alden took a step back off the path and felt his boots sink into the mud. It didn’t matter. Gabriel circled in front of him, and Alden cautiously circled in the other direction. They moved closer and closer until they were only an arm’s length apart.

  Gabriel jabbed his right fist forward. Alden lifted his left hand to block but missed the other fist that slammed into his temple. Alden dropped to the ground. His vision blurred and he struggled to lift himself out of the mud. He’d never felt so much force in a single punch before.

  He slowly regained his stanceand took advantage of his lowered posture. Alden swung at Gabriel’s side; kidney shots always hurt. He took a few steps back in shock but then threw another punch. Alden instinctively lifted his arm to block the shot. He pushed off the blow and used his momentum to land another punch, but it was deflected as well.

  Gabriel was moving at the same speed and accuracy as he was. Had they both gone through the surgery at the same time? It would have made sense. They were both badly wounded, why upgrade one soldier when you could do two? He never once bumped into him on Hyperion and no one had ever mentioned him.

  Another blow aimed for his face; Alden lifted his arm for protection. Gabriel took advantage of the open space and thrust his fist into his abdomen. The wind evaporated from his lungs. He took a step back, and coughed several times to get the air moving again. Alden instinctively threw up his hand and blocked one punch, two, three, four! What the hell was wrong with him? Then a fifth shot came in and connected squarely with the side of his face. All he could see was red.

  “Argh! You son of a bitch!” Alden couldn’t think straight, he lurched from his position and used the full force of his body to swing his leg around and connect with the back of Gabriel’s knee. It buckled slightly, but he continued to stand. The shot caught him off guard and Alden used his momentum to swing at Gabriel’s stomach and land a crushing blow.

  Reeling from the attacks, Gabriel dropped ever so slightly. Alden used his remaining energy to swing for Gabriel’s nose, but his attack was deflected. Gabriel’s fist connected with Alden’s chin. Blood spurted into the air. The power knocked Alden backwards and Gabriel landed another painful blow that sent him sprawling into the mud.

  Blood streamed down Alden’s face, ran across his chest and seepe
d into the ground.

  The crowd of kids stopped cheering as Gabriel jumped on top of Alden. Despite the blood in his eyes, Alden saw him coming and rolled out of the way. Gabriel splashed down into the mud. Before he could move, Alden grabbed his arm and dropped blow after blow into his rib cage. Gabriel blocked the last punch and squirmed away. Before Alden could stand, Gabriel lunged at him. It happened so fast, the next thing Alden knew was hit after hit connecting with his face.

  Instinctively, Alden rammed his knee into Gabriel’s gut, and used the break in the attack to get himself out. He was filled with rage. He threw as many punches into Gabriel as he could. Anger and pain surged through his soul and all he could see was red; he wanted to kill him.

  Two security guards emerged from the now-silent crowd and pulled them apart.

  “I hate you!” Alden screamed as his chest heaved up and down.

  “You killed them,” Gabriel yelled back. “All of this is your fault. They’re gone because of you!” Blood streamed down his nose, staining his shirt.

  “Alright you two, knock it off!!” one of the guards yelled. “Get to the infirmary to be checked out.”

  Alden ripped himself out of the guard’s grip and stormed through the circle of students. He didn’t want anybody to see him; he was so angry he could scream. He hated this place more and more. One of the girls in the other groups reached out to see if he was okay. He jerked away from her and pushed out of the crowd.He used his shirt to wipe the blood out of his eyes. He was having a hard time focusing. At first he headed towards the hospital, but then he noticed that Father McKinley’s church was lit up.

  He walked over at once, and pounded on the door. After a few moments, it flew open.

  “Dear me child, what happened?” Father McKinley asked. “You’re bleeding…”

  “It was Gabriel, he attacked me!” Alden responded.