Rebellion (A Titan Romance Book 1) (11 page)

T
he next day
, the convoy packed up. Raemus made it clear everyone needed to load extra provisions for the journey ahead.

They were finally moving on toward Pergamon, an entirely different geographic region still six hundred kilometers to the north, a mountainous green zone, where fewer and fewer settlements could be found. And there was going to be no stopping along the way.

But to Raemus, fewer settlements was the point. He knew chances of making contact with Xerxus grew the farther they traveled from Zebra and Bin Ar-Drezar’s long fingers.

There were innumerable variables at play, and Raemus now needed to apply his best asset as a Titan, his augmented intuition, to all of them.

What Raemus didn’t tell Akyra and her leadership team was that he actually had deeper ties with the locals farther away from Zebra, places far enough away that he could carefully acknowledge his sympathies for the greater insurgency, where many of the locals had even begun praying for Raemus’ possible future leadership. He grew friendly with the towns close to Zebra, yes, always enforcing the peace when splinter insurgents got too carried away. But right under Bin Ar-Drezar’s nose was no place express his true feelings.

“Sorry to see the desert go,” Akyra said, as she and Raemus carried their heavy gear toward their vehicles from where they’d sneaked a cup of blue phenia tea, recapping their strategy for moving forward. “Desert always feels clean. Despite that it’s, well, one hundred percent dirt.”

“Not a lot of places for the enemy to hide,” Raemus agreed.

“Yeah.” Akyra looked at the side of Raemus' handsome face as they walked. “Good memories now, too.”

Raemus smiled. “Xerxus’ probable location is uploaded into your nav. Remember, Akyra, I’d bet it all he’s waiting for us.”

“Can’t we make that work to our advantage?”

“Let’s see how he and his chums react as we move in. Six hundred kilometers is a lot of space for plans to go wrong. Sometimes it’s best not to make them.”

“Raemus, I thought you said you’d have more influence in these regions, away from Zebra.”

He nodded. “True. Except it’s still a tough neighborhood. Don’t forget for a second, Titans are in this part of the galaxy for a reason. Minora isn’t so bad now, but things can
go
bad real quick. You may get the occasional heretic with a rocket launcher near Zebra, but the farther away you get from the outpost, the bigger the assholes. The bigger momentum these assholes can sustain. These planets, planets like Minora…” He clicked his cheeks. “The Church has trouble keeping people convinced it has their best interests in mind. Hence the farther away from a church outpost…”

Akyra stopped walking before they got in earshot of the others. “What do you think?”

Looking off to the rocky, red-hazed horizon, Raemus shrugged. “Well, until Bin Ar-Drezar opened up on us three days ago, I’d have said that I still didn’t know.”

“Looks like your decision was made for you.”

“No. I made the decision myself. There’s no doubt about it. The sin all is mine.”

“Perhaps mine, too.”

“Believe me, I pray to The Almighty I’ll find his path to forgiveness.”

“One day.” Akyra bound her own fate now with his. This pleased him more than he expected.

He turned to her in perfect seriousness, echoing her sentiment. “One day.” He moved close to her, dropping his gear from both hands. Lifting the Sol’s Hand pendant she’d temporarily left outside her chest armor, he examined it thoughtfully as the dry, cold wind picked up. He bent down and kissed her cheek.

But she dropped her own gear, grabbed his face with both hands, and pulled his lips down to her own.

“Thank you for Shu’ri, Raemus,” she said after their kiss.

“Thank you for Shu’ri, Akyra.”

Akyra added, “It was kinda super hot.”

Raemus’ own laugh caught him off guard. He let go of the pendent and the wind caught it. “Pergamon’s a lot warmer. You’ll like it. Talk to you soon.”

When they finally parted toward their respective teams, Raemus’ keen eye noticed everyone else felt good, too.

He watched as Akino, Tomohiko, and Aejax—who’d been helping Banshees tote their equipment to the vehicles—show Akyra great respect, stopping when she approached, nodding to her with reverence and poise.

All the Titans also gave Raemus extra space, too. They avoided extraneous questions and refrained from seeking his approval, allowing him some alone time while he loaded equipment and worked out possible outcomes with Xerxus in his head. The extra space was a nod to his own rise in stature and admiration.

After yesterday’s ceremony with Akyra, his team elevated him from military commander to leader of a spiritual family, of which they were all brothers. These Titans were breaking from hardened rules pushed upon them from childhood, breaking from the rigid system holding them in place. Now that Raemus had ceremoniously committed the capital crime of making love to Akyra, and so publicly at that, he’d ripped them free.

They were now on a path different than what church architects had originally chosen for them. Not even assaulting their own outpost and stealing Bio-Teck Laboratories’ property had done that.

This spiritual family continued on its own. And Raemus commanded, beyond any doubt, as the head of the family.

The final process of mounting up by both teams happened swiftly. It was professional and tidy. This was the kind of military efficiency that comes from happy, hopeful warriors, the kind of military efficiency he absolutely loved. Surely, Akyra noticed. And loved it, too.

His vehicle rumbled to life, and standing on its roof, he turned toward Akino, who was at his side. “Ready to get this job done?”

“Yes. The Almighty calls us to Pergamon.”

“In that case…” Raemus slipped on his helmet to give him access to his comm mic. “Attention Thunder Company, this is Thunder Leader Actual. Stand aside as Captain Roux’s team moves up. Banshees have the lead. Take good care of us, ladies.”

Raemus knew Akyra smiled as she stood halfway through the roof hatch above her seat. He could hear the smile in her voice. Everyone could. “Copy, Thunder Leader,” she said. “Stay close, and we’ll keep you boys safe.”

As the lead Banshee carrier began approaching his own vehicle—the top half of Akyra’s armored body poking out the roof—Raemus' heart began pounding. She hadn’t put on her helmet yet, so her braid flipped wildly in the wind. As she roared past, both Raemus and Akyra waved to each other, her huge smile only ten meters away as Staff Sergeant Polliana Paxton hammered the accelerator, stoking the thunderous engines to their limit.

Raemus was almost sure he heard the shrieks of excitement from all the other Banshees within the rear carrier as it barreled past in turn, Sergeant First Class Valarae Klipssen atop this one, helmet on, arms crossed, focused forward.

He laughed, smitten by such levels of sheer jubilation from these humans. It was an honest joy he’d never seen humans exhibit. And if all these women embraced such feelings, then it
must
come from their commander, the woman charismatic and strong enough to set this tone: a true leader.

There she was, her figure receding from him at the very front of the entire column, helmet off despite the cold, her long braid trailing behind, her arms spread wide as if embracing those winds of change blowing before her. She was hope and joy. Ahead of everyone. Beautifully human.

* * *

A
s the last
Titan vehicle trailed away, local townspeople who’d come to witness the procession bowed on their knees in the dusty wake of the convoy. Many of them, dressed in dark robes barely enough to withstand the cold, some with tattooed faces, some with uncovered shaven heads, began scooping up dirt of the vehicle tracks into jars and pots, the folds of their clothes if they had nothing else, mumbling prayers of hope and reverence.

One of them, an elderly stooped man, perhaps their elder, stood alone among the many bowed devotees, watching the convoy drive away. He too was in a long, dirty vestment. From one hand, a modest censer swung gently, from which thick plumes of smoke rose, swirling around him. The old man feebly waved at the receding vehicles, knowing by now the soldiers of The Almighty could not see him, knowing they would not wave in return—praying myths were real and prophecies as old as the ancient seabed under his sandals would be fulfilled.

A
fter a long
, final day of driving over the nearly lifeless, monotonous desert, a hazy green line of distant mountains rose on the horizon.

When the military convoy reached the base of the first low foothills, marked by an immense stretch of boulders larger than the leading Banshee troop carriers, the convoy parked for the afternoon.

Soldiers were dispersed along the convoy, working quickly in the last hours of sunlight to service every vehicle to Valarae and Akino’s strict expectations.

Akyra had already done her job, routing the next day’s leg with Raemus, identifying hazards and potential stopping points along the rising mountain roads. So she offered to help Polli, who lay under the front of their carrier, cleaning the twin air filters and refreshing fluids.

She was squatted down next to the huge front wheel, holding a length of electrical cable that ran from the rear generator to Polli, when Gayla walked up on her.

Gayla backed her shoulders against the big, black carrier and looked down at her captain with a rather large smile. “Sooo…”

“What’s up, Gayla?”

Gayla just raised her eyebrows, grinning.

Akyra took her attention away from Polli just long enough to laugh, look her medical specialist straight in the eye, and say, “Yes. It’s blue.”

“Holy fucking shit.”

“Just a little bit. It’s not neon or anything.”

“Did you… see it in the dark?”

Akyra frowned. She did
not
enjoy this rare feeling of embarrassment in front of her medical team member. “Gayla, don’t demean the most spiritual experience of my life with your petty, teenage questions.”

“Okay. Did you… see it in the dark?”

Akyra grunted, shook her head, and yanked more cable slack for Polli, who didn’t need it. “No. I didn’t.” She wiped away her smile permanently, letting Gayla know the conversation ended. Because she also didn’t enjoy lying to anyone on her team. Truth was, of course she saw it in the dark afterwards.
And it was awesome
.

Once Gayla moved on, Akyra heard Polli laugh under the carrier.

“Shut up down there.” Akyra kicked one of Polli’s boots sticking out from under the carrier. “You get no answers, either.”

That was when the low, steady voice of Alexio, lead sniper for the Titans, came over the comm. “Captain Raemus, we have a single person standing in the grass field half a kilometer south of us.”

Akyra slipped her headset into position in time to hear Raemus respond. “Copy, Alexio. What else?”

Being the Titan sniper, wherever Alexio perched himself to provide overwatch while the teams went about their vehicle maintenance, he was in the best position to see. “Just a guy. Standing in a field with a hood wrapped around his head. And a walking stick. He’s got a rifle of some sort slung over his shoulder. But it doesn’t look like he wants to use it. Kinda looks like he’s just waiting for something to happen. Can I shoot him?”

“Just a local with dangerous sense of curiosity?” Raemus asked.

“I guess,” Alexio replied. “There’s not even a smugglers' depot within a hundred kilometers. That’s one hell of a pleasure stroll. Maybe I should just shoot him.”

Akyra interrupted, “Captain Raemus, this is Captain Roux. I’m sending up a drone. I’ll open the feed to you.”

“Sounds good, captain.”

But by the time Akyra had the drone airborne, she’d stood up to look down the convoy for Raemus, and to her confusion, she saw several of the Titans looking in the
opposite direction
from the solo figure in the field.

They were looking up into the boulder field.

What are they looking at? Why aren’t they talking on the convoy’s comm channel?

With her human eyes, she couldn’t make out anything. But when she looked to her tapper’s video feed from the drone, whose A.I. knew to actively seek threats and targets, she saw the main camera quickly pan to the boulder field—where six red triangles sprung up on the display.

Oh fuck.

“Banshees, this is Roux, we’ve got possible hostiles in the boulder field, quarter kilometer to the north, six maybe more.” She tried reading data from the drone feed as she ran to her side of the carrier to grab her helmet and carbine rifle, but most of the drone’s sensors were blinded by what were surely energy shields.

So close to a military convoy, the mere presence of energy shields were enough for the drone—along with every Banshee and Titan—to consider them a threat, whoever used them. Whoever just sneaked up on their right flank could only have one intention.

No way I’m letting whoever you are take a shot at one of my girls!

However, the first round of the brief firefight struck the front corner of the carrier, only a quarter meter from Akyra’s head.

Even with her helmet now on, the sound startled Akyra, and she jumped back, seeing the fist sized chunk missing from the carrier’s armor plating. She barely had time to spin and squat all the way down behind the carrier before three more rounds banged into the front corner of the vehicle, barely missing her again.

“Shots fired! Shots fired!” she yelled into the comm, much louder than she meant to. But then, this mysterious enemy almost took her head off, so she forgave herself this time.

She flattened herself against the carrier’s massive front wheel, trying to control her breath.

“They’re targeting Banshee Leader,” Alexio announced through the comm, still a voice of calm. “Again, they are targeting Banshee Leader. Front vehicle.”

Well shit. I think he’s right.

Akyra pushed her head down under the troop carrier to look for poor Polli, who was, sure enough, sprawled as flat as she could be, looking up to Akyra, panicked. Akyra said nothing but put out her palms:
stay there, don’t fucking move.

Staying as low as possible, she edged toward the rear of the carrier, trying to get a visual on anyone else. Several seconds later, Rayeley, Jexica, Clarx, and six other Banshees, simultaneously deciding that being in the open was not the best course of action, joined her.

“Hey captain,” Rayeley said, slumping next to Akyra, sliding up her helmet visor. “I think the hostiles are trying to shoot you.”

“Yeah, I noticed.”

“What
ass
holes.”

Akyra asked, “Did you see what Raemus’ team is doing?”

“Yeah, looks like they’re trying to shoot them first. Where the fuck is Polli?”

Akyra smiled, thanked The Almighty for people like Rayeley, and then pointed under the carrier.

Rayeley bent all the way down, looking underneath. “What’s up, Polli! What the fuck kind of soldier gets pinned down under a vehicle during a firefight?”

Akyra leaned down, too. “Stay there, Polli.” She toggled her visor to display the feeds coming in from not only the drone but also any of the soldiers up and down the convoy.

Six red triangles still loomed within the boulder field.

Valarae, Emilia, and seven other Banshees had begun moving into the boulder field, struggling to maneuver around or under the huge natural obstacles without exposing themselves.

By now, most Titans were armored and helmeted, themselves beginning to move in a coordinated way along the edge of the boulder field. Half of them moved left, half right.

Looks like Raemus is going to outflank our flankers.

The Titans that remained with the convoy stayed on the far sides of their vehicles, for even the fearless Titans knew better than to poke their heads up when enemy snipers were involved.

Even if they’re really bad shots.

Raemus' voice came in through Akyra’s headset on their personal channel. “Akyra, you okay?” It wasn’t the calm, self-possessed captain she’d been getting to know.

He sounds pissed!

“All good, Raemus. Me and a couple ladies are kinda stuck here. What’s the plan?”

“These guys just tried sniping you. I’m going to kill them, that’s my plan.”

Well… can’t argue against that.

“Hey Raemus, when this is over, I think I’m going to finally ask what’s in that Bio-Teck cube.”

Raemus didn’t answer right away. “Yeah? What makes you think I know.”

A few more heavy rounds smacked into the other side of Akyra’s vehicle.

Rayeley looked at Akyra inquisitively. “What’s he say?”

Akyra reached up and covered her mic. “You were right. He’s gonna kill them.”

Rayeley slapped Akyra’s armored shoulder. “Fucker’s in love.”

Akyra kept scrolling through as many feeds as possible. “Shut up, I’m trying to watch out for Val.” Akyra’s voice lifted and took a stronger tone, “Val, you using the drone feed?”

“Affirmative, captain. We’re moving up through the boulder field now.”

“Okay. Val, as far as anyone can see you’ve still got only six hostiles. And they’re
not
moving.”

“Copy.”

“Also, you’ve got Titan support twenty meters to your left and right.”

Why aren’t the hostiles moving? And if they’re trying to snipe us, why the hell do they keep firing at nothing? That’s only going to make us keep cover. Doesn’t make sense.

Akyra was just about to check in with Raemus, who, like her, stayed back to coordinate the advance of his soldiers, when the situation changed entirely.

As if the enemy waited for enough Titans and Banshees to move into boulder field—and
away
from the convoy line—they began a suicide rush over the boulders toward Akyra.

It happened very quickly.

The enemies, cloaked in their powerful energy shields, were nothing but a blur as they leaped along the top of boulders, dropping down when Titan or Banshees fired their kinetic weapons in loud, cracking bursts, brilliant in the dusk light. Plasma weapons were too dangerous with comrades among the boulders.

The enemy’s objective was immediately clear to everyone: rush Akyra’s position with explosives and manually detonate them.

And the quarter of a kilometer between them and Akyra shrank
fast
.

Occasionally, muzzle flashes erupted from within the boulders. Green circles in her visor assured her that everyone was alive and still moving. But three of the red triangles stopped advancing along their routes, hopefully dead.

“Get Akyra cover!” Raemus shouted angrily over the comm. “They’re moving on her! Cut them off!”

Rayeley and the other Banshees, realizing it was do or die, climbed the sides of the carriers, sticking their heads and weapons over the top to get a bead on the whatever came at them.

They fired immediately as the remaining three blurs vaulted around the last line of boulders directly toward Akyra’s position.

In a flurry of horizontal movement, four green armored Titans leaped in front of Akyra’s vehicle, catching the hostiles mid-flight and yanking them with tremendous force to the ground—only to have their suspicions confirmed when one of the cloaked men detonated his explosives.

The shock wave ripped across the front of the convoy, and Akyra felt the impact like someone had dropped her from a three-story building. The four Titans who saved Akyra under Raemus’ orders took the worst of it. And when the low echo of the blast finished rumbling along the boulder field, tumbling into the forests of the rising mountains above them, those Titans were covered in white dirt. And lying very still.

Akyra scrambled all the way atop her carrier and looked over the edge to the other side. She put a hand to her mouth, trying to suppress a gasp.
Oh no! Please no, no, no!

There was stillness for a moment. The sounds of shouting within the boulder field. The thumping of Raemus’ boots as he ran up on the scene.

Finally, one last shot cracked the air as Alexio shot the lone figure in the field, ending the engagement.

* * *

R
aemus sat alone
, stewing in his frustration twenty meters away from anyone else. He’d ordered every available recon drone airborne while they finished refitting the vehicles and—more importantly—tended his four soldiers that survived with only minor injuries while tackling those…
fuckers who tried taking out Akyra!
Titan armor was designed to absorb some of the concussive energy from such explosives, but it was far from perfect.

Nothing was going to get in their perimeter tonight.

Akyra at least attempted to walk up quietly, but there was no such thing as sneaking up on a Titan. Especially not in armored boots. While walking on gravel.