Rebel Yell: Operation Ardent Redux: Episode 1 (A Space Opera Adventure)

by J. L. Stowers

  "That didn't take long at all," Roni said as she watched the newscaster stop her chat about the weather and instead begin stammering about the ship flying circles around the city. "They even already have a picture."

  Roni showed the screen with the image of their ship to Zadria while Ryan kept his eyes on the sky. They continued to dart around, putting on a show for the citizens of the planet while the news speculated about teenagers joy-riding.

  It wasn’t long before they started gaining some attention from the local police force. Two small police cruisers chased after them, but it was clear that this wasn't something they dealt with often, as the police ships were clunky in their maneuvers.

  "Yeah, I don't think those guys are going to be a problem," Roni said as Ryan flipped the ship around and drove right between them toward a rooftop park. They hovered momentarily to get their bearings. Then, off in the distance, they saw it. The transport ship rose slowly from the forest. "They're up. Let's make sure they get out of here quietly."

  With a nod, Ryan swooped down off the rooftop park and into the streets below. He kept the ship just above the flow of traffic, causing a few minor fender benders as the people below instinctively ducked and steered away.

  "I hope Billy is clear, because we're about to have company. It's time to get out of here." Roni stared at the screen as GC troops ran to their fighters and started to take off.

  "You got it," Ryan said as he pointed the nose of the craft upward. Panels opened and supplies fell to the rear of the small ship as it increased in elevation. Roni clung to the armrests of her seat, mumbling, "I knew I should have been the one to fly this rust bucket."

  "It'll be alright." The waver in Zadria's voice wasn't exactly convincing.

  The shaking grew more intense, and Roni looked down at the news screen just to make sure they weren't shedding external parts. The police peeled away from the chase and the fighters took their place, following but not firing on the ship.

  "Keep her above the city and they won't shoot us down," Zadria said quietly, her eyes squeezed shut.

  "Almost there," Ryan said, adjusting the window tint to combat the bright sky.

  Roni took a few deep breaths as they left the atmosphere and the planet behind them. The fighters turned to head back down to the surface as the news report mentioned that the reckless ship had left the planet, the feed glitching with the increasing distance. Chasing an old, unarmed junker into space wasn’t worth the cost of fuel and the potential risk of damage to GC fighter ships. a fact they depended on to make their escape.

  "Run scans. Did they make it?" Roni asked.

  Zadria hit a few buttons on the console. "Yes, looks like they're on their way."

  "Oh, Roni, I almost forgot. Go open the closet toward the back," Ryan said with boyish enthusiasm.

  Roni raised an eyebrow at Ryan before unclipping her harness. She floated up out of her seat and used the various open cabinet doors to help her get to the back. "It would have been nice if you picked a ship that had gravity."

  "Well, I had to choose between stealing an artificial gravity unit or—"

  "My weapons!" Roni squealed as she pulled her swords and guns from the closet and quickly placed them in their respective spots on her body. She gathered the rest and made her way back to the front to distribute them to Zadria and Ryan. "You made a good call. I can deal with a few days of no gravity to have these back. I never thought I'd see them again."

  "Guys," Zadria said with a warning tone in her voice.

  "I swear, Z, any time I hear you say 'guys' it's because something bad is about to happen," Roni said with a laugh.

  "Well..."

  "Shit." Ryan turned his attention to the controls. "Some sort of autopilot system engaged. It’s pulling us off course."

  "Override it," Roni said matter-of-factly as she clipped back into her harness.

  "I've already tried," Zadria explained. "I haven't seen one of these systems before, but I've heard about them. You see this here?"

  "The bio-link status?" Ryan asked.

  "Yeah. The ship is linked to another person on a biological level. If anyone else flies it beyond a specific perimeter then it engages the autopilot to return the ship to the rightful owner." Zadria mashed a few buttons. "Nothing I'm trying is working. These systems are pretty tamper-proof."

  "That sounds expensive. Who'd put one in a piece of junk like this?" Roni asked.

  "These actually used to be really nice ships back in the day," Ryan chimed in. "That's why I picked this one. Cosmetically it has seen better days, but they're typically pretty well built."

  "So, only two questions remain," Roni started.

  "Whose ship is this and where is it taking us?" Zadria finished.

  ***

  "I really hope you're having better luck than I am." Roni sighed as she closed another panel.

  "Not yet," Zadria answered. "The personal data file is encrypted and I haven't been able to figure it out yet."

  "Where are we, Ryan?"

  "Hell if I know. I still haven't been able to get the navigation systems back online."

  "So, just to recap, we're in a ship and don't know where we are, where we're going, or who's waiting on the other side." Roni kicked a panel closed.

  "Pretty much." Ryan sighed. “I mean, unless you want to add a comment about there not being a single planet within viewing distance.”

  "We also don't know how far away we are from our destination. We could die before we even get there. And we can’t even signal anyone in passing because there’s no one around as far as I can tell."

  "Thanks, Z, real reassuring." Roni shook her head.

  "Sorry," Zadria squeaked.

  Roni continued to collect and examine the various items floating through the ship, tucking them away after they proved to be unhelpful. She started to wonder what David would do if he were there. "Okay, let's reevaluate. What do we have?"

  "We're alive," Ryan said with a shrug.

  "Life support is operational, and we found some MREs," Zadria added.

  "And we have our personal weapons." Roni drummed her fingers on her sword's hilt. "Anything else?"

  Zadria flipped through screens on the system's computer. "Engines look good, shields look good, the hull is holding up well."

  "Is there any way you can regain control over something? Anything?" Roni asked.

  "Oh, here," Ryan said, reaching over and tapping a few buttons. A low, hypnotic-type trance music emanated from the speakers.

  "The sound system. Great, Ryan. Just what we needed. We're saved," Roni said flatly.

  "You said anything."

  "Wait... this might actually help us." Zadria swiped through the screens again. "I'm looking at the music files that have been uploaded to the ship's computer."

  "What good will that do?" Roni asked.

  "The personal file is encrypted, but they may not have thought to encrypt the metadata from the music files."

  "What can that tell us?" Roni asked.

  "From the looks of things, not much." Zadria sighed. "The ship is taking us somewhere in this system, so I guess that's good. At least we won't die of old age before we get there."

  "Why are we going so slow, anyway? Ryan?" Roni arched an eyebrow at him.

  "Uh, well, this was the best I could find."

  "How would we have made it home in this?" she asked.

  Ryan shrugged and gave a sheepish smile. "I hadn't thought that far ahead. I figured we’d stop somewhere on the way and swap it out for a different ship."

  Roni sighed loudly and rolled her eyes.

  "We're coming up on something," Zadria said, pointing.

  A huge asteroid, suspended against the black curtain of space, hung before them. It grew larger as they approached.

  "Uh, Z, you might want to slow this thing down. We're going to crash." Roni leaned forward in her seat.

  "I can't, the autopilot is controlling all of that." Zadria frantically mashed the buttons and switches, Rya
n doing the same.

  All Roni could do was stare at the giant, gently rotating rock. The proximity sensors sounded, and she clutched the armrests, pushing herself back in her chair again and squeezing her eyes shut. "This is not on the long list of potential ways I thought I'd die. It was nice knowing you guys."

  When the ship didn't smash against the surface, she peeked one eye open. "What happened?"

  "We're... inside," Ryan said quietly, in awe of their surroundings.

  The inside of the asteroid didn't look like an asteroid at all. The tunnel they were in was lined with colored lights, one row of white, one row of red. The walls of the tunnel seemed to be some kind of metal sheeting. A massive door at the end of the tunnel opened, and the ship flew inside through an atmospheric shield. Roni felt the familiar tug of artificial gravity and unbuckled her harness to kneel between Zadria and Ryan as the three of them stared, slack-jawed, at their surroundings.

  The ship came to a gentle landing on a pedestal next to another, much newer vessel, then powered down.

  "Okay then," Roni said, grabbing her swords. "Let's go see where we are."

  After a quick exterior air quality check, she opened the hatch, and the three of them stepped out to find themselves facing a long-haired, unshaven man in his underwear, holding a sandwich.

  "Uh, hi?" he said with a wave.

  Chapter 10

  "You found my ship!" the man said as he sank another bite into his sandwich, crumbs bouncing off his distended belly.

  "I... guess we did?" Roni kept her eyes on him but tucked her swords away. "Who are you?"

  "Name's Finneous Copernicus Geronimo. But, everyone calls me Finn." He strode over to Roni and wiped his hand on the side of his underwear before extending it to her.

  "Everyone?" Ryan asked, looking around at the distinct lack of people.

  She reached out reluctantly to shake it before quickly withdrawing. "Roni. This is Ryan, Zadria."

  The man continued to take a bite between each handshake, wiping the hand on his underwear after each one as he proceeded down the line, finally stuffing the rest of the sandwich in his mouth before waving for them to follow.

  The trio exchanged glances before falling in line behind Finn as he led them through another set of doors.

  "So, where are we?" Roni asked, eyeing the trail of sandwich drippings that led to the hangar. A small robot came around the corner, sweeping bits into a dustpan.

  "This is my home." Finn extended his arms and spun in a circle as he led them through the hall. "Built it myself... mostly."

  "Does anyone else live here?" Zadria asked as they turned another corner.

  "Just me and a few bots," he said, pointing at a second bot that was cleaning what appeared to be mustard off of the wall.

  "What do you do here?" Ryan asked. "How do you avoid detection?"

  "Meh, no one is looking for me, so that helps a lot. I have certain security measures in place to protect my little island in the stars. As for what I do..." Finn stopped in the hall and turned to look at them, the lightheartedness gone from his eyes. "That's on a need-to-know basis."

  They walked through another set of doors and into a garden. Fruit trees stood in neat rows, and bees gently buzzed around the blooming flowers. About halfway through the space, the path widened to encircle a fountain that bubbled gently with clear water. Finn flopped down on a bench facing the fountain and gestured the others to do the same.

  "Nice place," Roni said, taking a seat.

  "Why are you here?" Finn turned to look at her.

  "Your ship brought us here," Zadria answered for her.

  He stared at Zadria a moment before his eyes moved back to Roni, then to Ryan. "Why'd you have my ship?"

  "We didn't know that it belonged to anybody," Ryan said.

  "Nonsense. Everything belongs to somebody."

  Roni adjusted in her seat, resting her hand near her sword. Finn's change in personality had her on edge, and she wanted to be prepared for anything.

  "It was a means for escape," Roni answered slowly.

  "I take it you weren't followed? Otherwise I'm sure my sensors would have picked up something else by now. So you're all alone out here. With no ship."

  Roni's fingers reached out and made contact with the sword's hilt.

  "Seems like quite a pickle," Finn said, staring at Roni.

  "Lived through worse." Roni studied his eyes. It wouldn't be difficult to dispatch the man. He was clearly out of shape and unarmed. She could probably take him out without even using her weapons.

  "You're not GC. I can tell," Finn finally broke the silence. He nodded toward Zadria and Ryan. "Not sure about them, though."

  "We're not GC," Zadria confirmed. "Not anymore."

  Finn picked a chunk of tomato out of his chest hair and popped it into his mouth, staring at her momentarily before shifting his attention back to Roni.

  Roni wrinkled her nose in disgust. "And who are you affiliated with?"

  Finn chuckled. "Oh, I'm not."

  "Everyone's on someone's side." Roni's skepticism was growing.

  "Not me." Finn shrugged. "I'm just a fly on the wall."

  "I know who you are," Zadria spoke up.

  "I should hope so, young lady, since I've already told you." Finn chuckled again.

  "I didn't know your name before, but I remember reading about you in the GC database. The Listener. Only the database said you have a ship lightyears away from here."

  "The Listener. I always thought that was a lame nickname. I'm so much more than that."

  Zadria turned toward Roni. "This guy supposedly knows everything. The GC has been trying to get their hands on him for years."

  "Everything, you say?" Roni turned her gaze back to Finn. "And wanted by the GC, no less."

  She watched the smugness melt from his face and become a look of fear as his eyes dropped to her weapons.

  "I'm sure there's something I can help you with," Finn said with a nervous smile.

  "I mean, we're out here, alone, with no ship." Roni smirked, using his own words against him. "This place is pretty nice."

  "It really is," Ryan added, picking a raspberry and popping it into his mouth. "I wouldn't mind living in a place like this."

  "Who are you? Pirates? Rebels? Smugglers? I've got something everyone wants." An anxious laugh escaped Finn's lips.

  "Do you know why they resumed mining operations on Hera?" She figured it was a long shot, but she still felt like there was more to that story that she wanted to know.

  "Well, yes, actually." Finn beamed and sat up a little straighter.

  "Well?" Roni asked, tapping on the hilt of her sword.

  "It's for some special space station. They're keeping it very quiet. I haven't been able to hear much about it."

  "We know that much. But where is it? And why Hera?" she asked.

  "In the GC home sector. And the ore on Hera has slightly different properties than they’ve been able to find anywhere else. Good for certain… instruments."

  “Instruments?” Roni asked.

  “Medical equipment and the like,” he said with a wave of his hand.

  Roni pursed her lips. If she wanted to take down the GC then blowing up their fancy new space station would be a good start. It'd also help her get her point across that she wouldn't stand for what they did on Hera and what they continued to do on other planets. She'd put a stop to the madness, and now she had her target.

  "I see those wheels turning, young lady," Finn said with a chuckle.

  "What are you thinking?" Ryan asked.

  Roni raised her eyes to examine Ryan's face, and then Zadria's. Venturing into the GC home sector was a terrible idea, and she may not make it out alive. She was fine with that for herself, but hesitant to risk their lives.

  "I need two ships," Roni said as she turned back to Finn.

  "Two?" Zadria asked.

  "I have ships, and allies, sure. But nothing is free, my girl."

  "What's the price?" Ro
ni asked, ignoring Zadria and Ryan's concerned glances.

  Finn's expression darkened, and a smirk formed at the corners of his mouth as he leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees. "A mission. But it'll take all three of you."

  "No deal," Roni stated flatly. "You've got me. I'm sending these two home."

  "Hold up," Ryan said, grabbing Roni by the arm and pulling her off the bench. He marched her around to the opposite side of the fountain and glared at her. "You're not getting rid of me that easy."

  "Yeah," Zadria echoed.

  "Look, guys, going into the GC sector is no joke. There's a good chance I won't be coming back. I'm not going to risk your lives, too."

  Ryan turned to Zadria. "Did she even ask you? She didn't ask me."

  "Why, no, she didn't. Not a single word."

  The two of them folded their arms across their chests and stared at Roni.

  "You're both being ridiculous. You want to die?"

  "Not particularly," said Ryan. "But if you don’t want to die then maybe having a few people well versed in GC protocol with you as you charge into enemy territory is a good idea."

  Zadria nodded in agreement, and Roni stared at them both.

  "You know, I might not be able to protect you," she said quietly.

  "I've been protected my whole life," Zadria said, her fists moving to her hips. "Right now, the only thing you're doing is treating me the same way my father does. I'm a grown woman, Roni. Perfectly capable of making my own decisions. I will not let you treat me like a child and send me to my room. You're not the only one who has beef with the GC. Jag was my friend, and they messed with Ryan's head."

  “Uh, I’m right here,” Ryan said, waving a hand.

  Roni held up her hands defensively. "Alright, alright. You guys can come. But don't get pissed at me if this is a shit show."

  Zadria smiled proudly and hugged Roni, catching her off guard. "Thank you."

  "Uh, sure?" Roni patted her on the back. "Now can we get back to Finn? I need to know more about this mission."

  Ryan nodded, and the trio strolled back around the fountain to where Finn waited on his bench, the smirk still on his face. "We're in. One ship. What's the mission?"