Escape From Redeem, Rise of an Emperor
Chapter 22

Planet: Earth, High Orbit

Captain Reynolds had now relinquished all of the Raptors controls, over to General Defoe’s command. The perusing fleet were hot on his heels, and some were so close to his vessel that they had even fired a volley of missiles at him. Luckily the range was still too great to be of much concern.

‘Captain, I have your ship. Thank you for the service to the Watch.’

The way the General had said that made it sound that he would not survive this mission. Surly it had just meant he had served Black Watch well.

‘Thank you General, it has been an honour. Do I just sit tight now sir?’

‘Yes, I will take it from here. Defoe out.’

The General was not the biggest conversationalist at the best of times. But Reynolds had hoped that once he was back in his solar system, he would be told what would happen to the enemy at his tail. Like most missions in the watch however, he remained in the dark.

The helmsmen turned to him suddenly alarmed. He wondered what the problem was now.

‘Sir, I think we have a problem.’

The helm said urgently to Reynolds, who massaged his brow tiringly and held out a calming open hand.

‘It’s ok helmsmen. The General has our ship now; I think he knows what his doing.’

The young helm quickly looked back at his controls for confirmation and added.

‘That’s the problem sir; our course has been set for the Presidential Palace. We’re not slowing down either; in fact the ships steadily speeding up, and I’ve been completely locked out.’

‘What the…’

Reynolds hailed the General to see what was happening. Maybe he had given control of their ship to some rookie who had completely miscalculated their approach. No answer came from Earth command.

For a moment he panicked. They had passed the moon, and Earth was looming ever closer. Suddenly he realised that they were getting very near to the point of no return. The fabric of the Raptor TS’s hull would ensure that they did not burn up in the atmosphere. But at the speed they were going the impact would blow the ship and its crew to pieces.

‘Sir we on a collision course with Earth; Orders?’ He had none; they were essentially locked out from all of the Raptors controls.

The nose of the matt black vessel began to glow, as they entered the planet’s atmosphere. What had they done to deserve destruction? Reynolds would never know.

It had not been unheard of to cut off loose ends off, after a delicate operation. But he could not see the sense in eliminating his whole crew who were technically heroes.

The mountains of the Swizz Alps came into focus, as they broke out of the burning re-entry. ‘Helm try a manual over ride… try something curse you!’ He shouted in vain, knowing the order was impossible. ‘It’s too late sir! We’re doomed.’

***

Within the Presidential office, Black lay completely incapacitated. The betrayal by Kruger had been a complete surprise, and the drug he had pumped into him on the ring he was wearing, had been potent to say the least. He did not feel like he was dying. It was more a feeling of absolute helplessness.

Kruger had been gone a few minutes now. Black looked out of the window, like a spectator at the theatre. No sound had come from outside his office, which meant that Kruger was probably long gone by now. The question was; why didn’t he just kill him while he had him at his mercy?

It was then that he noticed a streak of light that was suddenly getting brighter and brighter. Understanding dawned on him instantly. They had incapacitated him and know they would destroy the Palace with him inside it. This would essentially create a perfect crime with no evidence pointing at the betrayers.

A fear of all his life’s work being ruined fuelled him to summon something of a small movement in his hands. Long ago, he had transformed his physiology to heal and withstand the most potent of pathogens and poisons. Gradually he could feel the healing effects of his work wash over him. It was not enough for him to stand, but clumsily he rolled for the wall near his desk.

He got there as quick as he could. Looking back out of the window the bright flash in the sky was coming at the Palace fast. He reached out underneath one of the hanging tapestries, which showed an ancient battle, of knights and Lords in a time long forgotten.

Behind the tapestry was an elevator that would take him to the buildings underground bunker. Only a few people were privy to this elevators existence, and he hoped that he could summon the power needed to just open the doors, let alone descend into its refuge in time.

The button to the elevator felt as numb as anything else he touched. He sighed in relief when he heard a ding, and the doors opened. Rolling into the steel box and his possible sanctuary, took a monumental effort. As more time was passing however, he could feel his bodies control returning. He threw a partially feeling hand up to the elevator controls, and hit the down button. There was only two places that it could go anyway, which was this office, and to the bunker below.

Intense light lit the room and turned the darkness of night outside to day time. The doors closed, and the elevator whooshed down. He hoped with all hope that he would make it to the bunker in time, before whatever was falling destroyed his home. It was fast but he didn’t think it would be fast enough.

It stopped abruptly, and the doors opened to the bunkers entrance. With a last effort he rolled out onto the concrete floor. The feeling of the grounds coldness told him that all sensation was starting to come back. But before he could celebrate this miraculous return of feeling, there was a thunderous boom all around him and then only darkness.

***

Planet: Redeem, Class A Prison World

The Warden had watched the drama play out on the viewing screen. His calm features that had never betrayed much feeling, were now screwed up in anger at what was happening within his prison.

Inmate 118 had somehow locked everyone out of the system, and the Warden had also been stuck fast in his chambers and could do very little, from where he now paced. The phone he had been holding had rang for ages. He had watched on the screen the big and imposing young man go through twenty or so of his men, like a destructive tempest. Who; and what was this thing they had sent him? How he had even escaped from an isolated cavernous platform was beyond his comprehension.

His men were sprawled on the ground and unmoving. One of them had been spared, and was now being led away in cuffs by one of the other inmates. They looked just as stunned as the Warden had been, at what was happening.

118 came back to the desk, as if he had been out for a light stroll. No sense of fatigue showed on the face of the person who had taken out a score of well-trained prison officers. He came back to the desk, and looked straight into the camera that the Warden was watching him on. He picked up the ringing phone.

‘Hello, this is the new commander of the facility. How can I help you?’

Prisoner 118 said over the phone conversationally.

‘No young man; you are not. This facility is mine, and I promise you that there will be payment, for what you have done this evening.’

He stared into the camera, as if he were looking straight at him. The Warden felt a cold shiver run along his spine. He did not fear anyone; he had no need to here. In this place he was the tormenter, and the one to be feared. This fact did not help his feeling of dread, as he looked back into the monitor, at the hulking young prisoner.

‘Unfortunately, it is you who is mistaken. I could have done this at any time; but it was the death of a friend that pushed my plans forward.’

’You are unnaturally strong, I’ll give you that. But if you think you can escape from Redeem, prisoner 118; I would think again. I will let you leave now if you wish. You will not last long outside.”

118 smiled, like he did not care in the slightest about what the Warden would allow. Sooner or later though, one of his tech engineers would regain access to the facilities controls.

‘It is understandable Warden that you think I want to leave this place. But as I told Hugo Wellin up there. I do not want to leave just yet. I have things I would like to address before I leave. And contrary to what you believe; I can leave here at any time.’

‘What do you want then, if not to leave?’

Maybe this inmate was mad as well as powerful, if he thought that he could just leave this establishment.

‘I want justice for all the crimes committed here. I will warrant there are some men, who deserve to be in prison. What you do to them however; I replace abhorrent. It makes me sick to my stomach, and now it is over.’

‘We will see 118, we will see.’ The young prisoner stopped smiling and picked up a data tablet.

‘Your ignorance to the fact that you think you are still in control, is understandable Warden. After all, this has never happened here before. But you are not in control, and if you think your technical engineers will come to the rescue; then you will have a very long wait indeed.’

‘Release my men 118 and I promise we won’t flay you alive before we put you back in that pit of a cell. Trust me; you will not enjoy what’s coming to you either way.’

’Warden, your threats are wasted. All you are doing is wasting the vital air you breathe.

118 raised the data tablet up to the camera. On its screen were air vent location schematics. They all indicated in the off position. He lowered it, and smiled; looking sinister, in the ambient light of the control booth he was in.

‘You see Warden. I control this facility now… What was it you said to me, after I was given my first beating by your goon up there? ... Oh that was it; you welcomed me here, and told me I would not enjoy my stay here. Well you were correct I have not.’

The Warden reached up to the air vents, which had no flow what’s so ever. He turned back to the screen pleadingly.

‘You were not correct however in the fact that you presume to still run this place. You do not; I do. I have even let you watch me on the screen in your room, and let you use that phone that we now converse on. I hope now, you get the picture of what you face, and what is coming. I bid you farewell… oh and Warden.’

‘Yes curse you?’

The Warden said tersely. ’You will not enjoy the rest of your time here. Goodbye.

With that the line went blank, without even a dialling tone. The screen that showed 118 and the control room also went blank. Finally the lights were shut off leaving his opulent room in pitch darkness. The silence was deafening, with no sound coming from the air vent. The Warden started to shiver, but not from cold. He whispered to himself. ‘How?’

***

Planet: Earth, Command Centre, Geneva

Hell had been unleashed upon the fair capital of Geneva. No devastation like this had ever touched the peaceful city. The unidentified object had hit the Presidential Palace with a destructive force, great enough to level most of the wondrous building.

The sad reports had streamed in by the hundreds, all for the attention of General Defoe. He alone was now dealing with this crisis. He conversed with the leader of the Senate, who looked pale, and pleaded for answers. They wanted to know what had happened to their great leader.

‘That’s all I know at the moment Senator.’ Defoe said elusively; he had bigger fish to fry right now, rather than answer the questions of this imbecile.

‘General the people of Earth need answers. They need to know if mankind’s saviour is still alive?’ That was rich thought Defoe. The Senate of this planet would now only think of how to close the vacuum of power, left in the wake of Blacks demise. Defoe had fortunately been planning for Blacks replacement for a long time.

‘Captain Kruger was running an errand for the President. He is here now, trying to coordinate the Elite Guard. Unfortunately the Presidents last known whereabouts, were in his chambers that now lie in ruins.’

‘My word; what is happening General?’

‘We are under attack Senator. In Orbit as we speak, there is a small fleet poised to attack our world. I have a large task force incoming from Lunar Base, but this attack was so sudden our response has been sluggish to say the least.’

‘General who is in command until we know the Presidents fate?’ The Senator would fancy himself a candidate it seemed.

‘Senator this is a military crises and I am commander of all our forces both here and off world. I will assume command until this threat has been dealt with. Until then, I bid you keep your people safe, and wait for my orders. Defoe out.’

‘General I…’

The communication went dead as Defoe cut off the Senators call. He would not waste any more time debating with the politician. Kruger once again stood before him, clad in the full glory of his battle dress, which shined in its polished black brilliance. His mail cape folded to the floor, as he bent a knee of deference to his new Emperor.

‘Well done, my new High Lord of Earth.’

Defoe said to his second in command. No one in the room would know the full story of how Black had been replaced. In truth they did not care to know, and carried on with their duties diligently, around the imperious pair of victors. But their victory would be short lived, if they did not handle the savage alien threat in the skies above.

‘Thank you my Emperor; he died quietly. What of our current situation with the aliens above? Does all go to plan?’

’It does; they have deployed some kind of troop carrier, and have focussed their main assault around the crash site. This suits us well.

Kruger’s jaw tightened with concern. ‘They have landed?’

‘Yes.’

‘Then we did not shoot them down with our ground batteries, my Lord?’

The ground batteries were supposed to have fired powerful lances of energy at the potential incoming threat. Apparently this had not been executed.

‘Unfortunately, their defensive capabilities were greater than realised. But do not worry yourself too much. The more devastation they wreak, the greater the desperation of the people for a saviour. That is our role Guy.’

‘Can we control this Emperor?’ Defoe had kept on his general’s uniform. The medals buttoned to his chest, spoke of the number of times he had triumphed in combat through many theatres of war. Soon he would strip away this uniform of subservience to Blacks regime. He would soon wear the stuff of heroes, and portray an image suitable for an emperor of humankind. He puffed out his chest, to emphasize the fact of these victories but Kruger’s concern remained.

‘Guy I have received reports of widespread attacks across the city. Go and lead the guard against this rabble of beasts. I want you to be seen. Make a name for yourself. Soon our secret weapons will be here to reinforce you. Then we will have our final victory.’

The Weapon Defoe spoke of, was the thousands of gen-hanced warriors, who were all under their complete control. They still had their own minds; as such. But the brainwashing, and control chips, ensured they had complete loyalty from this army of ultimate fighters.

’I will go right away. I want to see the strength of these aliens.

“I want you to report to me when it is over.’

The new Emperor said menacingly. Kruger bowed, and briskly made his way out, to win this battle they had both engineered.

Defoe looked at a screen that showed news reports of the carnage taking place around the city. The fearsome beasts were caught on camera, making short work of the local constabulary, who were more suited to arresting criminals than fighting intergalactic warriors.

It looked like a blood bath. Cities all around the world were reporting the same thing. So far the aggressors were taking a bloody toll. Defoe had made this ultimate gamble. Today would be the beginning of his reign, or the end of them all.