Stolen Minds

by Pthasse Amadeus

  Chapter 3

  Hannah did as Daniel said and a holographic projection was displayed to her senses once again, but this time it showed a picture of her. She accessed the file and after a short pause a message was seen. 'Dr. Hannah LeBeaux, wanted for questioning under the suspicion of being an accomplice to Daniel the Rebel. All units be advised subject is dangerous, apprehend at all costs.' Hannah's heart raced as she stared at the text.

  "Let's just say they'd like to know how much you know about the real Safe Haven," Daniel said. "I expected this but I didn't expect it so soon, perhaps my earlier suspicions were truer than I thought..." he left the last few words hanging. Hannah didn't respond, she cursed herself for letting it get to this stage and thought hard about what she could do to redeem herself. However, there was now a persistent nagging in her head, was Daniel telling the truth?

  "Brace yourself, we've got company," Daniel informed, taking a sharp turn to evade an approaching Sentinel duo. Hannah turned to see the two Sentinels approaching from behind. They weren't very far away and Hannah could tell that they had on heavier armour than last time.

  "Responding to incoming threat..." the electronic voice of her implant said to her. "Activating defence drones," Hannah was puzzled, her implant had never acted this way before; suddenly she felt two small objects shoot off into the sky from her shoulders. Hannah watched as the small drones briefly engaged the Sentinels, marginally slowing their advance. The Sentinels destroyed the two drones and continued their approach.

  "What the hell just happened?!" Hannah asked Daniel but her implant responded first.

  "Incoming object was assessed as a threat to your survival, so a low-level fail safe defence protocol was initiated," Hannah's implant said to her senses.

  "I see you're beginning to remember who you are?" Daniel said to Hannah.

  "What on Earth are you talking about?"

  "Isn't it obvious? You're not Human!"

  Just then a Sentinel trio appeared directly in their path and Daniel swerved, losing control of the car and it smashed into the side of a nearby building. Within moments five Sentinels were upon them, before either had a chance to act. Shortly after, they were bound, waiting for the Guardians to pick them up. Hannah was happy that they hadn't killed her and she had no intentions of giving them a reason to do so. Two Sentinels flew off leaving three to guard Hannah and Daniel.

  "Don't you remember me?" Daniel whispered and Hannah ignored him. "I am Rebu and so are you. We were both highly renowned Rebu Councillors, until we decided to go against the High Council on the issue of Earth relations. You were the first to speak out and you accused the High Council of committing a sin against sentient life, and of course they resented your comment. Try as you might, the High Council ignored you and the Safe Haven programme continued; and then you were stripped of your rank and status, forcing you to join the military. That didn't stop you and many other Rebu, including myself, joined your struggle and we made it our own," Daniel continued as he turned to face Hannah. "We became lovers..." he turned to observe the Sentinels guarding them and Hannah remained silent.

  "We would make love every night for hours and in that time we forgot all of our troubles, thinking only of our passion. And then you disappeared and the High Council offered no explanations, so we continued with the plan, inciting a civil war. That was when some of us were captured and brought here. It turned out that since the High Council could not give death sentences to fellow Rebu, they had been sending dissident Rebu here for years. I only found out recently, while on my way back from a retrieval mission. I managed to slip into Safe Haven but they captured me and I was re-educated, suppressing my consciousness within a web of lies but for whatever reason the mental manipulation didn't hold. So they tried again, this time the process was much more aggressive and they locked me away underneath Safe Haven, but yet again the re-education didn't hold; however, they succeeded in altering my physical form. While I was there, I learned that you had also been brought here, consciousness suppressed, living among the citizens of Safe Haven. I escaped and started searching for you; Hannah, we must escape this place," Daniel concluded.

  "To think that I almost started believing you..." Hannah said rolling her eyes. "I know who I am and what I am, there's nothing you can do to convince me otherwise." Daniel said nothing but sat watching the lead Sentinel intently.

  "Hannah, we need to leave," Daniel said as two Sentinels took to the air leaving just the leader.

  "What? Why?" Hannah said, sounding a little confused. "How?"

  "It just received a kill order," Daniel whispered hurriedly as the Sentinel turned and approached them.

  "Run!" Daniel screamed as he charged at the Sentinel who promptly opened fire, the two collided and tumbled off the building. Suddenly, other Sentinels appeared firing laser pulses at Hannah. Her suit's defence system activated, but this time by her choice and the air was filled with over a dozen drones, and an all out battle began. The air was charged by their weapons discharge, Hannah got up and with all her strength she snapped her bindings; in an instant she was back in the driver's seat of her car. She tried to start the engine and felt a thump behind; she swiftly reached for Daniel's pulse pistol, turned and let off several quick rounds that knocked the Sentinel off the car.

  "Come on!" Hannah screamed at the car and in response it came to life. Without a second thought Hannah engaged the drive and accelerated rapidly away from the battle, but two Sentinels disengaged the drones and began pursuit. Hannah wondered about Daniel, given all that had happened she was inclined to believe him but she didn't buy his story about her being an alien. Hannah decided then and there that she was going to leave Safe Haven, to see outside for herself; but then she began to hear an insistent beeping.

  "Personal shield activated," Hannah's implant told her just as she felt a blow hit her back. She recovered and turned around to see an approaching bright light, which grazed the side of her car melting away the metal. Hannah pushed down her fear, instead she let her anger fill her, she was outraged that she was being hunted in this manner; after all she had done for Safe Haven. Suddenly two Sentinels landed on the back of her car, but before she could swing back to take a shot at one of them, another Sentinel landed on the front of the car, crushing the engine and the car began to lose altitude.

  "Heads up!" a familiar voice screamed from above and Hannah looked up to see Daniel fall into the car from above.

  "Where the hell did you come from?!" Hannah screamed back.

  "Good to know you still care!" Daniel replied and Hannah rolled her eyes.

  "The car is going to crash, jump!" Daniel shouted has he lunged at a Sentinel, knocking it off the car.

  "Collision imminent, evasive fail safe protocols engaged," Hannah's implant said and she was involuntarily launched into the air as she took flight, cutting the air at high speed.

  "Incoming communication," Hannah's implant told her and she accepted it with a thought.

  "That's the spirit," Daniel said. Hannah turned back to see him following her in the air, closely trailed by five Sentinels. "Hey, do you mind shooting back at them? I need a few moments for my rounds to recharge."

  Hannah wondered how she was expected to do that without any weapons. Instantly, her implant brought to her mind the different armaments the suit possessed, which were limited but effective. Hannah turned in the air and pointed her fists at the Sentinels, releasing a barrage of laser pulses from bracelet-shaped weapons on her wrists. Daniel chucked some grenades into the mix and took the lead heading towards the outer walls. Suddenly, two shots came from nowhere, hitting Daniel and Hannah firmly in their chests. A surge of electric pain shot through their bodies and they descended to the ground, crashing through the structures in their path; and as they fell the Sentinels followed.

  Hannah rose from the floor feeling battered yet surprised that she had survived the attack and the fall. Her vision blurred as the suit came back online and then she saw the outer wall, a short distan
ce from her current location.

  "Easy Hannah, they have us surrounded," Daniel said and Hannah looked around to see four Sentinels standing around them and watching.

  "What are they doing?" Hannah asked. "Waiting for orders?"

  "No, it's something else," Daniel said in an unusual serious tone, which made Hannah worry. Hannah switched her visual and audio ranges as she scanned the area.

  "There!" Daniel shouted and let out a few quick rounds at a dark, shifting form between them and the outer wall. It was another Sentinel but this one was much bigger than the others.

  "It's a Heavy Armour Sentinel," Daniel said, and with hate full in his voice he screamed a blood-curdling cry and charged the new Sentinel; on cue the other Sentinels advanced.

  "Martial defence program downloaded... Protocol initiated," Hannah's implant said and she watched as her body moved on its own. Her stance shifted and she fired quick rounds from her pulse weapon at the four attacking Sentinels, and then she charged. She stopped mid-motion and launched a handful of grenades and as they exploded she jumped high in the air; her defence systems anticipating her enemy. As a Sentinel emerged from the smoke, a vibrating blade extended from her arm and with a smooth motion she removed its head. A laser pulse hit her but her personal shield absorbed the majority of the force, and before she knew it she was exchanging blows with two Sentinels, while a third took to the air carrying an explosive.

  "Threat imminent," Hannah's implant informed her and her suit released a field of high energy charge, which disrupted the systems of the duo engaging her, with just enough time to evade a lethal attack. However, her suit's systems had also been disrupted. The explosive device that the third Sentinel dropped disintegrated his comrades, and Hannah heard a scream that she hoped she would never hear again, and she found herself unable to move. Hannah stood there, watching the enraged agent of death advance and time seemed to slow down. As the Sentinel approached, a barrage of quick laser pulse rounds intercepted it and it crashed to the ground. Hannah turned to see Daniel looking at her, giving a 'thumbs up', but her face turned to horror as the large Sentinel swung at Daniel, wielding a large metal pole. Noticing Hannah's expression, Daniel turned quickly, just in time to block the attack, pushing his personal shield to the limit. The Sentinel kicked Daniel across the floor and turned its attention on Hannah.

  "Hannah! Run!!" Daniel screamed, while coughing up blood. Hannah hesitated for a moment and then she bolted, heading towards the outer walls. She turned around to see the giant Sentinel take to the air and she did the same racing towards the outer wall. Her suit evaded but she felt a hot beam graze her side, through her weakened personal shield. Panic began to seep into her and she screamed as tears poured freely from her eyes, Hannah thought that she was going to die. She felt a hard force hit her back and she crashed back to the ground, and as she got up she saw Daniel. He was bruised, bloodied and beaten, with the Sentinel's blade deep within his chest but Daniel held firm with all his strength.

  "Go!" Daniel screamed at her and as she got up and ran, she aimed every weapon her survival suit had at the outer wall, fired and took to the air, racing away; the wall crumbled and Hannah left the floating city of Safe Haven, before a shield began to seal the breach. Hannah rose into the air, taking full deep breaths. She laughed and she cried, the air was far from toxic... She felt guilty and blamed herself for Daniel's death but she had no illusions of safety. Hannah willed herself to fly farther and faster towards the distant shoreline that her implant told her was there; she looked back to see the large Sentinel giving chase. As she approached land she saw a settlement in the distance, her implant adjusted her vision and she saw the Rebu. She absently wondered if what Daniel said about her heritage was true, she doubted it but still she wondered.

  As Hannah approached a line of anti-aircraft weapons, her implant identified them as magnetic rail guns and she panicked when they opened fire, her suit's systems froze and she fell to the ground. But as she crashed, she realised that the guns were aimed at the Sentinel, which crashed to the ground with bits and pieces flying everywhere. Hannah gingerly rose to her feet to see two hover cars approaching. She had no more strength but felt determined to keep on living, now more than ever, so she stood her ground. A curious mix of Rebu and Human soldiers jumped off the hover car, weapons trained on Hannah.

  "Hold your fire!" said a strong voice full of command and a tall creature with grey skin and silver hair approached Hannah. "You need not fear us, you are safe here. What is your name?"

  "Dr... " Hannah began. "Hannah."

  "Welcome to Fort Freedom Hannah, you are among friends. They call me Hank."

  Hannah realised the truth, the world that she had called home was just a microcosm, worse, it was an illusion... Nothing she had done there mattered because as a citizen living there, she was a prisoner; or as Daniel had said, livestock. The reality of the whole ordeal was overwhelming, Hannah felt weak in her knees and she felt herself losing consciousness.

  "Medic!" Hank called and Hannah passed out.

  *****