Phoenix Reborn

by Joseph Mackay

  They flew quietly for several hours, William taking pain medication periodically through the flight. Captain Blackwell looked worried for a while but eventually calmed down. After a while, they started talking again.

  “I’ve heard about the Free Man Revolution, that’s what they’re calling it right? I actually think the current administration needs an overhaul,” the pilot said suddenly.

  “Free Man Revolution, huh? I like that,” William said with a smirk.

  “You didn’t come up with it?”

  “Nope, this is the first I’ve heard of it. I was just trying to get a little payback.”

  “Payback for what?”

  “The EMC killed someone special to me.”

  “So this is some kind of quest for vengeance?” the pilot asked curiously.

  “It’s a reckoning. The EMC invented an alien threat to enslave us and the colonies so that they could remain in power.”

  “But they were trying to get resources for the people; they wanted to give us energy and food. Without the colonies, the Earth will fall and the people will die.”

  “So the ends justify the means? How many people have to be murdered and enslaved for this greater good? Who determines what is good? Right now it is a despot who seized power from a democratically elected government with a false flag attack. He murdered a woman for that control.”

  “When you put it that way it seems pretty obvious, but knowing that many more will die if you win, it’s hard to say what’s right,” the Blackwell offered, sounding somewhat sympathetic.

  “The difference is, if I win, the only people who will die are the people who don’t earn what they consume. The people waiting for their handout will not make it. Those who want to work can get to a colony that will accept them, or rebuild this planet will be fine. Just because we exhausted some of the resources on this planet doesn’t mean that there aren’t an abundance of others that we can’t use,” William explained.

  “If the EMC has their way, they will exhaust the people who produce, whether here or on a colony. Without them, the people waiting for the handout still die. It just takes a little longer. The reasons the colonies are productive and the Earth is not, is because the producers went out there, looking for their chance to live without an oppressive regime stealing the product of their labor. The Earth doesn’t have enough producers to accommodate all the consumers,” William finished thoughtfully.

  Captain Blackwell was quiet for a long time after that, thinking over what William had said. He noticed a bit later that William had passed out and left him alone while he flew the transport toward the OMBIcademy. He knew he could have landed and escaped, but found himself agreeing with the man and by the time they were over Japan, he considered himself a Free Man.

  “Wake up, we’re nearly there.” Blackwell nudged William.

  “How long was I asleep?” William asked, yawning.

  “About four hours. You must be in a lot of pain.”

  “It’s nothing.”

  “Right,” Blackwell said skeptically. “Why do you even want to go to the OMBIcademy?”

  “They have my son there, and I am going to get him out.”

  “If they knew who you were, they would have used him a long time ago. He might be safer there than somewhere else in the world,” Blackwell said convincingly.

  “You’re probably right; only, it’s just a matter of time before I’m identified. I need to get my boy out before that happens.”

  “I will wait on the landing pad, if you want,” the pilot offered with a smile.

  “I appreciate that,” William said as he finished the bottle of pain pills.

  “By the way, my name is Jared.” The pilot extended his hand.

  “I am the Dragoon,” William replied back, taking the man’s hand.

  Chapter 16

  Crux of a Moment

  William walked slowly across the runway, past several transports on his way toward the entrance of the OMBIcademy. He leaned heavily on his weapon now, unsure if he would be able to put any weight on his right foot. When he tried he felt waves of pain shooting through his body so intensely that black spots began to cloud his vision.

  The tarmac was empty in the middle of the day, and the man was grateful for it. He wasn’t sure he would be able to sneak around or fight in his condition. Getting an idea, William went aboard one of the other transports on the deck and into the back where the medical kit was. He found it easily enough and removed the pain medication, consuming a few of the bitter pills right then.

  He took a deep breath to steady himself, knowing that he couldn’t continue like this for very long. As the medication took effect, the pain began to slightly alleviate. He exited the transport and continued to make his way toward the entrance.

  When he finally crossed the runway, William felt exhausted. Moving while heavily injured was taxing his energy; to make matters worse, when he arrived at the doorway, it was sealed shut. He had hoped to avoid discharging his weapon, as to not draw attention to himself, but he didn’t see an alternative entrance anywhere nearby and knew that searching around could cost him his consciousness.

  From the under-barrel he released a small stream of thermite discs, which spun through the air like a line of blue fire. When they impacted the handle, they began to melt and sizzle. The man watched as the thermite discs attempted to eat away the metal, eventually falling to the ground. The door was undamaged. The man cursed quietly, angry that he didn’t have the capability to inflict damage on the strange metal that made up the OMBIcademy.

  Getting an idea, William slammed the butt of his shotgun against the door twice and stood to the right side. He waited while someone on the other side unlocked the mechanism and stepped through the portal. The airman guarding the door walked outside and was met by the swinging butt of a three-barreled shotgun.

  Straining with the effort, William dragged the man to one side and found a small keycard, which the man had apparently used to unlock the door. He moved slowly into the structure, unsure of which way to proceed. He realized quickly that his outfit would be more likely to give him away than his heavy limp, but without access to an AFMR and a disguise, he decided he would try to be as cautious as he could.

  In the middle of the day, there weren’t many people around. The occasional conscript walked by, far down the hallway in a hurry to get somewhere. No other airmen or staff were present as he made his way through the unmarked halls of the OMBIcademy. He began to grow frustrated, knowing he was close to his stepson, but unsure of how to find him.

  He tried several doors he passed with the keycard he’d taken, but none of them opened for him. He was beginning to wonder if it was a keycard at all, but elected to hold on to it. Even if it only opened the exit for him, it would be valuable enough to keep.

  After a few minutes he came upon a door that was marked with a large green serpent. The plaque on the wall clearly labeled this as the Green Army barracks. William steadied his resolve, knowing that he was at least on the right level. He toyed with the idea of trying to capture one of the students to get information on where the Blue Army barracks were, but he dismissed the idea, realizing that stealth was a greater ally than information for the time being.

  As quietly as he could, he moved through the cold metal corridors in search of Connor.

  ~ ~ ~

  “I will write, I promise,” Connor said to Cat, who was already crying.

  “You better! I can’t believe you’re already leaving. We were supposed to be here for six years!” she said, her voice still shaken with the news that he was leaving.

  Connor had returned to the Blue Army barracks as quickly as he could the day before, telling everyone that he was going on a special assignment with General Harruhama, and that he wouldn’t be back for a while. All of his friends were upset by the news. Connor was more than a friend to the soldiers of Blue Army; he was a leader to them, an icon of what they hoped they could be someday.

  “I don’t think it�
�s forever, I just need to help them escort some ships or something. They really didn’t tell me much,” Connor offered, shrugging.

  “Probably because they knew you would tell everybody.” Jinn “Katana” Matsui laughed from his bunk nearby.

  “Ha! You’re probably right.” Connor chuckled.

  Cat had been sitting on his bed next to him, holding his hand and weeping. She’d cried when he told her that he was leaving the day before, cried all night, and was crying again now that it was time to go.

  “It will be okay, Cat. I’m sure you guys will do fine without me,” Connor said, trying to make her feel better.

  “If you’re stupid enough to think that I’m upset because we might lose fights without you then I ought to smack you until you get it!” she snapped.

  Connor looked over at the other boys in Blue Army, who all looked away quickly. He wondered if he would ever understand girls.

  When Harruhama’s guard showed up and walked into their barracks, Connor stood up off the bed.

  “It’s time for me to go.”

  Cat threw her arms around him in a big hug then locked her arm with his as he walked out of the barracks. Ladder and Carl both gave Connor a hug on his way out. Katana, Hunter, and Dice shook his hand and wished him the best. Manzar was crying in his bunk and waved goodbye from there. Even Skulls seemed despondent at the idea of Connor leaving, but got up to pat him on the back on the way out the door.

  “Give them hell out there, Commander,” Skulls said, saluting.

  “I will,” Connor replied, putting his hand on his friend’s shoulder before continuing on.

  When they got to the Guard he looked from Connor to Cat slowly with a stern look on his face.

  “She’s just going to walk me to the exit, is that okay?”

  “Fine,” the guard said, seeming sympathetic.

  Connor turned at the exit and waved goodbye one final time to Blue Army as he walked out the door.

  ~ ~ ~

  William had found a door he could open, and was glad when he discovered that he was in the infirmary. A 311AFMR was working on an older boy and four other beds were occupied by younger kids in red uniforms. He thought he recognized one of the kids as one of Connor’s friends from home, but dismissed it quickly, not wanting to get distracted.

  The room was quiet but for the AFMR working. When he began to look through the supply cabinet the robot stopped its work and turned toward him.

  “Something AFMR can assist you with?” it asked in a static-laden robotic voice.

  “I have a broken ankle; I could use some pain medication or a brace,” he said quietly, not wanting to awaken the sedated patients.

  The AFMR moved over to an open bed, where the man sat down. He didn’t know it, of course, for he had no way of knowing it, but he sat on the very bed where his stepson had laid not two days before, recovering from his injuries. He rested back against the pillow while the medical robot removed his shoe and examined his ankle.

  A green light shot out of the thing’s single lens, crossing back and forth over the foot. The AFMR used its three arms to stabilize and grip the foot around the edges.

  “Prognosis: dislocated ankle set improperly. Setting ankle,” the machine warned as it tugged hard on his foot.

  William felt waves of pain roll through his body as he clenched his teeth, fighting to remain conscious. The pain medication he had recently taken helped, but even so it was the second worse pain he’d ever felt in his life.

  He was breathing heavily and sweating when the AFMR plunged a heavy needle into his foot.

  “Ow! What is that?” he growled.

  “Synthetic bonding agent,” the robot replied mechanically.

  As the cool white paste flowed through the needle into his foot, he felt it solidify around in his ankle. The AFRM plunged a second needle, which filled his foot with a green fluid.

  “And that?” he asked, grimacing.

  “Anti-inflammatory medicine.”

  When it was over, the AFMR wrapped the foot with several tight bandages, which solidified when the machine sprayed a light film of brown fluid over it. In ten minutes he felt like he could run again if he had wanted to.

  “Please rest the foot for forty-eight hours,” the AFMR instructed as William put his boot back on.

  It went back to work on the other patients as he sat up. William felt much better and could actually put weight on his foot. He knew that he would have to be careful, since the bone solution didn’t solidify entirely, but he couldn’t waste any more time. As he neared the exit, he heard a voice from behind him.

  “Hey, who are you?” asked the baritone voice of the boy on the last bed in the infirmary.

  “You’re injured, kid; I am just a figment of your imagination,” William said, hoping that the kid would just accept it and go back to sleep.

  “Huh,” the boy said, lying back against his pillow.

  ~ ~ ~

  The guard led Connor and Cat back to the lift, where General Harruhama was waiting for them. He eyed Cat, who was grabbing tightly to Connor’s arm, and then looked at the guard.

  The man shrugged and said, “She just wants to walk him out.”

  “I see,” Harruhama said slowly. “What is your name, conscript?”

  “Amanda McTaggart, sir. I just wanted to see my friend off, if that’s okay,” she pleaded.

  “I am General Harruhama; it’s nice to meet you. You can walk us to the exit, but once we’re outside you have to go back to your barracks, do you understand?”

  “Yes sir, General,” Cat said quickly, not wanting to ruin her last few minutes with Connor.

  “Thank you,” Connor said to him too, as he leaned slightly into Cat.

  He wasn’t exactly afraid of where he was going, but he knew he would miss his friends when he got there. Cat had become very special to him for reasons he didn’t quite understand, but he wanted her to walk with him.

  The guards formed up around them, six in front and six behind as they proceeded slowly to the exit of the Academy. Connor hated the idea of leaving, but he sincerely believed he would be back after his mission. He almost asked Harruhama before thinking better of it. If he was wrong, he didn’t want to worry Cat at all.

  The heavy boots echoed down the corridors as Connor left behind the OMBIcademy and the friends who had made it feel like home.

  ~ ~ ~

  The sounds of heavy boots in the next hallway over caused the man to freeze. He hadn’t seen or heard anyone who sounded like an adult since the airman he disabled on his way in. The children could be convinced that he belonged there, he hoped, but any adult would know he was out of place.

  When the echoes had faded, he turned to go. He nearly walked into a man turning around a corner and found himself looking into the wolfish face of Major Edmond Sanders. The major’s jaw dropped as he looked back into the cold eyes of the man responsible for starting the Free Man Revolution.

  With his left hand, the Dragoon removed his bandana and enjoyed the look of deeper shock that befell Sanders when he realized the man was William Mercer.

  “I told you I would make you pay for an eternity,” William said coolly as the major looked up and down the halls.

  “Follow me!” Sanders said quickly, surprising William by pulling him into a side hall.

  The major had been shocked for only a moment, but now was moving with purpose. He hadn’t tried to sound an alarm or call out, so William followed him, curious what this man’s intention was.

  They stopped in the hall, Sanders wheeling about to face William directly.

  “You’re alive, twice over,” Sanders said matter-of-factly.

  “Very observant of you,” William replied smugly.

  “Listen, I have a million things to say but not enough time to say them. You have to get moving right now! Harruhama has taken your son and is going to order an all-out war against Aeris VII. They aren’t gone yet, but you are missing your chance. Kill Harruhama if you can; if he dies, thi
s war will end.”

  “You are a sympathizer?” William asked as he turned to move.

  “Far more than I can say right now. Go!” Sanders said, turning the other direction back toward the lift.

  William’s head was spinning as he ran through the halls. He could feel the weight of his body in his injured foot, but pushed forward as swiftly as he could. He had known that the Gortha weren’t real and that the EMC, along with Harruhama, were trying to enslave the colonies, but a war? The thought that the colonies were resisting gave him a measure of hope.

  He ran like a man possessed, determined to get to his stepson. The idea that his rebellion on Earth could be a second front to a war in space gave him an optimistic view that his adopted sons might know freedom in his lifetime. The thought drove him forward.

  He came around the corner to the entrance he had used when he arrived and almost walked right into the barrage of bullets that filled the hallway.

  ~ ~ ~

  Having discovered the unconscious body of the airman door guard, Harruhama ordered Cat down a side hall back to her barracks against her protest. He positioned six guards in the corridor whose orders were to wait until he had gone and then seek out and eliminate the intruder.

  The man, the boy, and the other six guards proceeded out onto the tarmac to their transport. They had almost boarded when the open doorway of the OMBIcademy erupted with an explosion. The bodies of the guards scattered as they were flung from their defensive positions.

  The pilot of Harruhama’s transport had the engines firing when the Dragoon appeared from the smoky portal.

  He walked with a slight limp toward the transport, firing a barrage of explosive pellets at a guard, who hopped off the transport to stop him. The guard collapsed in a lump as the man moved forward.

  “Get us in the air,” Harruhama said coldly to the pilot, who was nodding furiously.

  He could see that Connor was scared while he grabbed him by the arm, walking toward the exit of the transport. He held Connor over the threshold, watching the man outside reloading his weapon.