Prometheus Unites (The Great Insurrection Book 5)

by David Beers

  “Got it, broth,” Relm said for everyone.

  Alistair knew he couldn’t revert to his usual tactic of running headfirst into this. There were too many red dots in that hologram. His attributes wouldn’t save them. He knew what was important.

  “There’s one woman who matters. She’s this flock's true shepherd, the creator of those beasts outside. We kill her, we break their back. You’ll know her when you see her since her body looks like she should be nowhere near a war zone and her spirit says she was birthed in one. Trust me, you’ll know what I mean. When you see her, that’s who you kill.”

  Alistair’s mind was processing things at a rapid pace. He grabbed his armor and started putting it on as he spoke, his hands moving like a skilled surgeon’s.

  “Caesar, your team takes the lower half of the building. We take the upper half. These people have the technology to attack from both parts, and that’s how we’re going to split it up.”

  He closed everything but his right wrist and hand.

  Jeeves spoke. “Five minutes until contact, sir.”

  Alistair knelt and the others followed, even Brillin understanding that something important was about to happen.

  Relm pulled a blade from his belt and handed it to the newcomer. “Pro doesn’t fuck around, kid, and you’re about to see it up close. Do as he does, say what he says, and when the time comes, draw your blood.”

  Brillin took the knife carefully.

  Alistair was looking at none of them. He stared at the floor. When he closed his eyes for one second, Luna’s face passed through his mind.

  This isn’t the end, he thought, because I haven’t seen you again. It doesn’t end until that happens, my love.

  “I do not kill for glory. I do not kill for malice. I kill because it is right. Because if I do not kill, those who seek to harm me and those I love will do so.”

  For Alistair, there was no one else in the room. He was alone. As he brought the blade to his arm, he relinquished control, and Prometheus came forward.

  He sliced a circular line around his arm. The blood ran down his forearm and dripped on the floor.

  “I do not fear the enemy. I do not fear death. I only fear living without protecting those I love. I only fear cowardice and hiding from my duty. As this blood flows, so will I. I bleed now so that I will not later. I bleed now so that those who sow harm against me know that blood does not frighten me. I bleed now because it is this blood that will conquer anyone in my path. See it and fear. See it and die.”

  The blade hit the floor, and Prometheus put his right hand on his dripping left arm. Wiping blood from the wound, he spread it under each eye.

  I’m coming, Luna. Hold on for me. It won’t be long.

  Pro looked at faces smeared with blood.

  They spoke as one. “Ave, Prometheus.”

  The Ice Queen stood a hundred meters from the capitol building. She saw her warriors and others fighting, though there weren’t many. They were mainly circling the other side, but they would flood this way soon.

  The other two warlords were approaching her. Fat Galer looked like a wrecking ball in his armor. Simo’s black armor made him look like Death.

  “You fucked this all up, Cristin,” Simo said as he reached her.

  “You know how many years it’s been since I fought?” Galer asked, though he sounded happy to be in battle again.

  The three looked at the towering building.

  “How do you want to do it, Cristin? You got us down here, so I hope you have a plan.”

  She’d thought about it during the march, and she did have a strategy. It might get the other two warlords killed, but it was likely to ensure that her family grew stronger. These two could not understand what they would face without seeing him in action. Even now, she imagined these men thought themselves stronger than everyone else down here. They were fools, and if they died, it would be their fault.

  Her family was what mattered, and Cristin would never forget that.

  “Did you see the ship land on top of the building?”

  “Yeah. Looked like one of yours,” Galer answered.

  “It was, and Kane made perhaps the dumbest decision he’s ever made. He kept my AI attached to him. I know their entire plan, and it revolves around that building. His core team is in there, and they plan on breaking us by not giving up that tower while their soldiers continue to push us against it.”

  Simo looked at her with wide eyes. “You’re serious?”

  Cristin nodded without taking her eyes off the building. “The entire group just did some ritual.”

  Listening to that man say those words was the first time she’d ever had a chill of fear roll down her spine. That was something she would never speak of. Powerful he might be, but he’d already given her the victory and didn’t even know it.

  “Us three are going into that tower, and we’re going to do it quietly. There’s only a handful of them in there, and they can’t cover the entire area. It’s impossible. I’m going to know where they’re all the time, as long as he keeps my AI in his ear. We’ll go to where they’re not, then we’ll get our men inside. Once he dies, the rest will break.”

  “In all my life,” Galer said with wonder, “I’ve never heard of such an idiotic move. He’s already dead, just doesn’t know it yet.”

  Even Simo had nothing smart to say.

  The Ice Queen smiled. “Simo, your men are lower third. Galer, you’re middle. I’m taking the top. We’ll end this in thirty minutes.”

  Caesar and Relm made the decision that they wouldn’t split up. The newcomer hadn’t shied away from cutting his arm, but that didn’t mean he was prepared for what was to come.

  They would be a boulder that rolled through the lower half of the building, crushing everything in its path.

  They started in the lobby. The glass surrounding it was reinforced, and though they knew it would break, the enemy would be forced through the entry doors in the beginning.

  The gigante and the two men were spread at even ten meters across the lobby. Relm held his MechPulse in front of him. Brillin did the same, looking uncomfortable with the weapon.

  A ring of humans and those strange hybrids was moving closer to the building. The battle was about forty meters out from it, but the perimeter was continuing to tighten. Servia had updated them that out of the ten corvettes they’d started with, only five remained. She’d told them Faitrin was the Prometheus of the sky, however. For every corvette the enemy had taken out, they’d taken ten of theirs.

  Caesar was silent as he stood in his black armor. He stared out the windows, watching the battle move closer.

  A corvette swooped low and blasted a row of hybrids. Huge chunks of rock and earth exploded into the air, and the ship swirled away. That was Faitrin, doing her best to hold the center.

  Relm stood in the middle of the three and looked in Brillin’s direction. “How old are ya, kid?”

  Sweat was dripping from the young man’s face, smearing the blood in long streaks down his cheeks. “Seventeen,” he replied without looking over.

  “Hey, not bad, not bad. First time I picked up my MechPulse and went to battle, I was sixteen.” He tapped the weapon in front of him like it was a beloved pet. “How much time you got with that thing? Had any practice?”

  “I was training back on Pluto,” Brillin said, trying to make his voice loud enough to cover the distance. Caesar heard the shaking in it. “There wasn’t any training with the Terram.”

  “That’s more than I had,” Relm said. Caesar understood what he was doing and was glad about it. The gigante couldn’t connect on a friendly level; his life hadn’t allowed him to develop that skill. Relm had it in spades. “Kid, I’m gonna be honest with you. I’m a fucking surgeon with this thing. You put me in a pulse battle with just about anyone, including that god-like bastard Prometheus, and I got at least a fifty-fifty shot of coming out alive.”

  Sweat dripped from Brillin’s face to the floor.

 
“Hey, kid, look at me.”

  Brillin turned his head to the right.

  “You’re about to see the GOAT of MechPulses go into battle. You know what the GOAT is?”

  He shook his head.

  “’Greatest of all time.’ You look like you don’t realize the front row seat you’re getting today. People would pay a lot of credits to watch what I’m about to do. Not to mention, this big bumbling monster to my right is going to put on a killing clinic.”

  Relm had forced a smile out of the young man.

  “Now, all bullshit aside, we got two to three minutes before those fucks outside decide hiding in here is better than being blasted by corvettes, so listen and listen well. The reason I’m so good is this? The MechPulse is not my weapon, it’s an extension of me. It’s the same as my arm or hand, and I use it as I would them. It does what I want, not the other way around. Say it with me, okay?”

  Brillin nodded.

  “My weapon is my arm.”

  Sounding stronger, Brillin repeated it. “My weapon is my arm.”

  “Good. Another piece of advice. The big bastard on my right is about thirty seconds away from pulling out his sabers and cutting down anything that comes in here. Do not hit him with your godsdamn arm. Or me, for that matter.”

  Relm closed his faceplate and turned forward.

  The enemy was looking at the glass. Fire roared in the streets. Shattered glass and rocks lay everywhere.

  Caesar grabbed the two hilts on either side of his belt and stepped forward. He didn’t look over as he spoke. His voice boomed across the lobby. “Kill them all. Every fucking one.”

  Five hybrids rushed the door, the only piece of glass not reinforced.

  They crashed through as if it were paper.

  Caesar’s right foot stretched out, then he was running. He’d heard of these creatures out in the galaxy. He’d had masters scream at him that those things were better killers and he could get twice as many for half the price.

  His footfalls sounded like rocks falling from the heavens as he rushed forward. The words of those masters rang through his mind with each falling stone.

  They’re better.

  You’re nothing.

  A waste of money.

  They don’t even need weapons to do what you do.

  The hybrids leaped as one.

  Caesar’s sabers fell from the hilts, green lasers searing the air they cut through. He extended both arms as the first two hybrids reached him.

  The lasers went through their chests, but he didn’t stop there. Caesar kept rushing to the door, then thrust the dying hybrids off his sabers and back into the street.

  The remaining three had missed their jumps and were turning to him since he was the immediate threat.

  Caesar faced them, seeing Relm cross the lobby to put more space between him and Brillin.

  He spun the sabers in his hands.

  Relm’s pulse fired twice and the plasma wracked the hybrid’s bodies, burning through fur and flesh. Brillin fired his and missed the first time, wide right.

  The hybrid turned as it realized the threat behind it.

  “AGAIN!” Relm shouted, his voice as ruthless as Caesar had ever heard it.

  The kid fired again, and plasma coated the front of the hybrid.

  Caesar crossed the distance between him and the enemy in two huge steps, then raked his sabers across the burning creatures rolling on the ground.

  “Five down,” Relm called from the back of the lobby. “A few thousand more to go. It ain’t nothing to a gangster, kid.”

  Caesar turned, sabers pointed toward the floor. The dead lay at his feet; it was the greatest monument he could build to honor his leader.

  On this day, Caesar planned to build a big monument.

  The AllMother emerged from her room and went to the war room. She was stretching herself to the limit, and she knew it. She could feel Prometheus again, though he was in the building.

  She had to help.

  The cost didn’t matter.

  Servia stood in front of the table, her hands moving holovids around while she barked questions at Jeeves and orders at soldiers.

  The AllMother said nothing, only walked up and stood next to her at the table.

  “What are you doing here, Mother?” Servia snapped.

  The AllMother studied the maps while her ancient mind raced through the building, coming to an understanding of where it was being attacked, where they were strongest, and where they were weakest.

  “I can’t look after you and focus. You’ve gotta go back and lay down.”

  The AllMother didn’t take her eyes off the maps or lose her focus. “Girl, I’ve laid more men and women under the ground than everyone here combined. You let me worry about me. You worry about making sure my children know how to win.”

  The AllMother’s mind was giving her what she wanted, call it overdrive, an extra gear, or willpower; it didn’t matter. She didn’t feel as she had at twenty-five, but gods, it was close.

  And that?

  That felt good.

  She didn’t need to see Servia smile at her snap. She felt it.

  The AllMother had built her legacy out of necessity so people would follow her insane quest. She’d never cared about fame. That hadn’t been the driving force, not for a single day. Now, though, standing next to one of her daughters, she realized this might be the last time she ever did this.

  If that was the case, anyone who survived would remember her.

  Perhaps a little fame wasn’t too bad.

  She smiled, and her mind reached out to her protégé.

  Prometheus, you about gave me whiplash when you sent that message. Let’s see if I can do the same to you.

  Prometheus suddenly stopped walking.

  Obs skidded across the floor as he halted, sensing something had changed. Thoreaux stopped a meter behind, and Nero went a bit farther before realizing everyone else had frozen.

  “Damn,” Pro whispered.

  He didn’t know how much force the old woman had thrown that with, but it’d buckled his knees. He couldn’t imagine the power she must’ve possessed as a young woman.

  Pro looked at Obs. “I’m fine. The old woman just entered the battlefield, and I think she means to be a factor.”

  Heard loud and clear, Mother.

  He realized that was the first time he’d ever called her that.

  Let’s not do that next time because you might get me killed, he told her.

  I trust you, she said, but I’m probably the only one in here who knows what’s in your ear. Please tell me you know what’s in your ear and that there’s a reason for it.

  The other three were staring at him. They couldn’t see through his faceplate, but he was smiling.

  Trust me like I do you, he responded.

  Done. What do you need from me? I don’t have long, I know that, but the time I do have is going to be impactful.

  I’ve got my part covered, he said. Do everything you can to keep the rest of the council alive. I’ll keep myself alive.

  Ave, Prometheus, the old woman told him before ending their connection.

  Obs trotted over to sit in front of his master. He looked up with worry in his eyes.

  Pro retracted the faceplate to show his smile. “I’m good, ya worryin’ fool. I don’t know how she’s doing it, but the AllMother is helping.” He looked at Nero. “Can you feel her?”

  The giant considered the question, then said, “Something is different.”

  “It’s her.”

  Servia came over the comm inside his helmet. “Pro, something’s changing outside. The battle against the perimeter is slacking, and we’ve got transport vehicles coming to the roof.”

  “How’s the perimeter handling the fight?”

  “We’re down four artillery, have two left. Best-case scenario, we’ve lost thirty percent of our soldiers. They might be down ten percent. We’re down two more corvettes.”

  “Faitrin?” he asked. />
  “Goddess of the skies. Still killing.”

  He had one more question. “What’s Jeeves’ estimate of the number coming to the roof?”

  There was a pause on the comm. “It’s bad. You’ve got one hundred landing now. We think another transport is bringing another hundred.”

  “We’re on it. Out.”

  “Pro!” she shouted. “That’s too many even for you.”

  “Know anyone you’d rather get up there? We can give them a call.”

  “No one in this universe or any others.” Another pause, and when she spoke, she projected the confidence of a general. “Good luck, and stay alive.”

  “Keep the perimeter’s deaths as low as you can, Serv. This is going to be over soon. Out.”

  The connection ended. Prometheus squatted next to Obs and put his armored arm gently around the drathe. He knew the animal’s ribs were broken from when he’d found the Whip. Obs hadn’t whined or shown any signs of pain. The animal was a warrior. Alistair looked up at Nero. “We’re going to the roof. All I need is for you three to stay alive. We’ve got Nero’s nanotech to help with wounds, and Obs, I know you’re hurt. Don’t overextend yourself up there. Thoreaux, try to keep control of yourself. We’ve got up to two hundred enemies landing on the roof. We’re going to get that number to a manageable prospect, but please trust me. All of you. No matter what, stay alive.”

  He knew they didn’t understand why he was saying these things. All he could do was hope they listened to that one directive.

  Prometheus stood, and his faceplate locked into place.

  He stepped past them.

  One thought went through his mind.

  The center will hold.

  The Ice Queen had separated from the other warlords. Her watch had shown her the building’s blueprints. Multiple staircases went from basement to roof, as well as an elevator. Cristin understood that meeting Kane alone in any staircase would be the end of her, and consequently, her family.

  The AI had been able to tell her where he was the entire time, though.