The Resistance- The Complete Series

by Nathan Hystad

  Flint lifted his old ship off the surface, and made his way through the atmosphere before feeling like he could breathe again.

  “Good to see you here. That’s the ship you kept going on about?” Ace asked, and Flint saw the Watcher fighter on the viewscreen, facing him from a kilometer away. “It’s…rusty.”

  “I’ll let it go today, kid, but watch how you talk about your elder ships. This one packs a little more punch than it appears.” Flint found himself in a great mood, even though he was battered, as was the android beside him. Wren, his… good friend, was clinging to survival in his old bed, and they’d made it off Europa in more or less one piece.

  The Shift drive was charging, and Flint watched it count down to zero. Five minutes and ten seconds later, it gave him the green light.

  “Setting course for outside the Fleet base on the moon,” Flint said, and Ace confirmed he was as well. “See you there,” he said, and watched as Ace’s ship vanished from space.

  He tapped his own icon, and closed his eyes. When he opened them, nothing had changed. They were still outside Europa. Jupiter’s eye stared at him, and Flint swore that if it could have winked, it would have.

  He was beginning to understand why the Watchers had left his ship below.

  21

  Serina

  Adams caught her arm as she was walking out the bridge doors. “You can’t seriously be leaving.”

  “Get your hand off me, subordinate!” Serina instantly felt bad about her choice of words, but it wasn’t his place to give her orders.

  His hand flew away as if it was bitten by a snake. “I’m sorry, but they’re already moving toward us. This battle is about to begin in haste. If we survive the hour, I’ll be surprised. Look, they’re directing more fighters to the surface.”

  “Then counter them with our own ground defense system and send another two squadrons to assist. This is our only shot at success. Without Shadow’s fleet, we’re doomed.” The word sent a shiver down her spine.

  “Be careful, and hurry back.” Adams turned and started relaying commands. Serina ran from the bridge and headed toward her private fighter’s hangar. She arrived a few minutes later, sweat dripping down her back, a mixture of nervousness and exertion.

  The modified fighter came to life as she sat inside with her mask on. She added the coordinates for their secret rendezvous, and she scanned the viewer as she emerged into space from her carrier. There were so many red dots on her HUD, there was no way they could do this without backup.

  Once her drive was ready, she hit it and appeared somewhere near Venus’ current position. The Eureka sat there in space, a gargantuan vessel that held their one chance at this inside: Shadow.

  “Hangar Five. Glad you could join us.” Barkley’s voice hit her earpiece, and Serina smiled.

  Five minutes later, Serina was climbing out of her fighter, her boots landing on Hangar Five’s floor with a clang.

  “Right this way, Grand Admiral,” a man in uniform said. She followed without comment until they arrived at a room with two guards standing in front of it, holding guns and looking like they wanted an excuse to use them.

  The door opened behind the guards, revealing Heather Barkley’s face. Benson stood farther inside the room, his arms crossed while his face appeared smug. Serina wanted to punch the stupid grin off it.

  The guards stepped apart, and she walked into the boardroom. Her heart felt like it stopped when she cast her gaze to the opposite end of the table. Shadow sat there, his hands chained to the tabletop, the makeshift shackles clinking against its surface as he lifted his arms.

  Serina moved quickly before anyone could tackle her. Her arm cocked back, and she hit him on the cheek, open-handed. His head snapped to the side before he could say anything.

  “Serina! This is a negotiation!” Barkley shouted.

  Serina was angry and tried to get herself under control, but when she saw the impostor’s face, she couldn’t help it. “Is it? Then why is this man restrained, and why did you have to steal him away from his own fleet? This is not a negotiation. This is us finding a way to force this man to work with us – for the sake of humanity, not Earth Fleet. He’s an idealist who thinks his shallow opinions are the only ones out there.

  “He stooped so far as to pretend to be my dead brother to pull a fast one on us, and he can never be trusted again. So I hit him.” Serina let out a quick breath and beheld the man before her. His nose was bleeding, and he stared coldly into her eyes.

  He started a quiet laugh and licked his lips. “Earth Fleet has ruined our people. You think you’ve done so much to protect them, when you’ve really spent hundreds of years pushing them into the ground. Do you think this will be the last time this system is under attack? Do you really think there’s any way to fight the Raiders?” he asked, using his own term for the Invaders.

  “So you’d rather help the Invaders than your own people?” Barkley asked before Serina could retaliate.

  “Don’t you see? I am helping them. I’m told that once they wipe out every last Earth Fleet member, building, and vessel, they’ll allow us to live. We’ll survive this.” Shadow’s eyes lit up, and Serina saw the man truly believed this.

  She shook her head, but Benson stepped forward, planting his hands on the table, leaning in toward Shadow. “Son, you’re wrong. I thought the same thing. I was there on the surface of what we thought was their home world. There were no signs of the previous inhabitants there. They exterminated the locals and took over. That’s what they’ll do again.”

  Shadow’s face betrayed him as his expression turned grave. He was still wearing the black cloak, but the hood was hinged back and the scarf unwrapped from his face. His eyes did match her brother’s, of that Serina had no doubt. “They promised.”

  “You’d take the promise of a barbaric alien race so quickly?” Serina asked.

  “I would,” he answered.

  Benson kept him talking. “Is there any way you’ll work with us? We don’t have time to sit here discussing your belief system and core values!” Serina was seeing a different side to the man now, and could appreciate it.

  “I won’t,” Shadow said.

  The room went silent. “Why? Why did you pretend to be my brother?” Serina had to know.

  He laughed for real now, a big, booming sound that echoed across the large, sparsely furnished boardroom. “You seriously don’t see it? I’m him. I am Beck, Serina.” He looked down, as if afraid to meet her fuming stare.

  She grabbed his face under the jaw and brought it to meet her gaze. “It is you,” she finally admitted. “Then help us. Do you think Mom and Dad would want you to support the enemy? Shadow stole you and killed our father, Beck. You can’t do this!”

  “I don’t remember Dad, or Mom. I don’t even remember you, Serina. It’s too late. They’ll be attacking your Fleet as we speak.” Beck still smiled, and Serina’s emotions for her brother changed. He may have been blood, but he was something else too, and she wanted no part of him.

  “We need another way,” she said.

  “There is no other way,” Shadow said.

  “Do they obey you without question?” Benson asked.

  “Of course. I’m Shadow.” The arrogance of his voice grated on Serina’s ears.

  “Good.” Benson pulled out a gun, a mini handheld, briefly aimed, and pulled the trigger. The bullet hit Beck straight in the forehead, and Serina was spattered with her brother’s blood. She stood there dumbfounded for a moment before screaming.

  “What do you think you’re doing? He was our only hope!” Serina said, and Barkley was already shouting for the guards to enter.

  Benson raised his hands in the air, the gun still firmly in his grip. “He wasn’t going to cave. He’s bad news. Guards, can you let him in?”

  The Marines stepped through the door and pointed their guns at Benson. He finally lowered his right arm slowly, and set the gun down on the table. “Let him in,” he said, and one of the Marines moved
to the side. A blond man entered, and his eyes went wide at the sight of the cuffed dead body at the far end of the table. He seemed like he was about to faint, and one of the Marines caught him.

  “Keep it together, son,” Benson said. “You said you could do this for the Fleet. For our people as a race.”

  The forty-something man shook his head quickly, trying to get himself together. Serina stared. Those eyes. They were so similar to her brother’s. The dead brother she’d never known, and never would.

  “What games are you playing, Benson?” Serina asked.

  Benson looked pleased with himself. “If they want to be ordered to join our fight, then we’ll give them orders. Say hello to our new Shadow. He’ll be heading back to Mars now to announce the treaty he signed with the Fleet, and will direct his welded-together rust-buckets to assist us as we destroy these Watchers.”

  Serina glanced down to see the blood splatter on her uniform, and tried her best to ignore it.

  “You didn’t have to kill him,” Barkley said, her face stark white against her dark outfit.

  “Oh, but didn’t I? What if they find out it was a farce? What then? We’ll fake his death in the final fight against the Watchers, and his followers will have to be satisfied.” Benson had it all planned out.

  “You’re a devious one, aren’t you?” Serina couldn’t believe she was going to say it. The whole ordeal had left her cold and immune to the pain of Beck’s death – for now. “Well done. Now let’s stop messing around and get this man into uniform.” She peered into her brother’s dead eyes, his blank stare fixated on the table in front of him. She hoped his sacrifice was worth the lives of many.

  Ace

  Ace arrived to chaos. He checked his HUD, but didn’t see Flint’s ship’s unique ID anywhere. Instead, he witnessed the large Watcher fleet moving over Earth and toward the Earth Fleet regiment. He wasn’t sure what to do or where to go.

  “Captain Barkley?” He reached out with his communicator but didn’t receive a reply. He checked the screen again. The Eureka was nowhere in sight either. Was he too late? Dread seeped into his bones. Had the Eureka been destroyed already?

  “Oliv? Oliv, come in, it’s me, Ace,” he said across a broad channel, and still didn’t get a reply. “Damn it. Someone tell me what’s going on!” he shouted, until a familiar voice cut through.

  “Lieutenant Adams here, son. What news do you have for us?” he asked.

  “What do you mean, what news? I’m just returning from Europa. Flint Lancaster was captured, and we sprang him from the Watchers’ camp. Doctor Sando and Charles, along with the rest of the prisoners, are with him. Only he didn’t make it back for some reason.”

  “Wait, that’s what you guys were up to? It doesn’t matter. We’re outmatched here, Ace,” Adams said.

  “Where’s Serina? Where’s the Eureka?” Ace asked.

  “Together. They’re trying to convince Shadow to join us, but I fear they’re going to be too late.” Adams was resigned to defeat.

  Ace searched around, trying to get his bearings. “Keep them busy and stay out of their way. Serina will find a solution, I know it.” He truly believed that. “What can I do to help?”

  “We’ve managed to fend them off down on the surface, but four of their fighters broke through our defenses and are heading for New New York. You’re closer than our crew. We only have twenty fighters left.” Adams said the news, and Ace fought back his dismay. So many pilots he’d become friends with had been killed in such a short amount of time. If the real battle began in earnest out here, they’d lose far more.

  “I’m going now,” Ace said, and made for Earth. It was a wonderful sight once again. From the seat of his Watcher fighter, it was amazing through the viewer: a sphere full of life and love, an energy unparalleled to anywhere he’d been outside the world. Ace had spent the first sixteen years of his life wishing he was among the stars, but now, as he flew toward Earth, he wanted nothing so badly as to make sure it remained their home.

  The ship rumbled through the atmosphere, fire flashing around the hull as he accelerated through the cloud cover, making his way toward North America. The first shot took him by surprise. He didn’t know where it came from until he remembered the suborbital defense system the Fleet had in place. He’d just entered Earth’s atmosphere in an enemy fighter and had expected to waltz right in.

  He found the Earth Fleet planetside channel and used it. “This is Ace, pilot from the Eureka. I’m in an enemy fighter and was sent to help at New New York.”

  Another pulse hit his shields before a response came. “Next time, give us a heads-up. Proceed.”

  No apology necessary, apparently. Ace kept moving at max thrust toward his target location. He saw the ships coming from across the Atlantic now, and he roared over to them, hoping they’d think he was another straggler looking for a squadron to join. After a tense few seconds, Ace knew it had worked. A message came through to him in their language, and he didn’t even bother acknowledging it.

  He settled into formation behind the four ships, taking the right spot, rear and planned his next move. They were still about four minutes from getting close enough to do serious damage to the huge metropolis along the coast, so he didn’t have much time.

  The sky cleared, and sun reflected off the ocean. If it was any other moment, Ace would have loved to see the majestic waters below, but now it was distracting. He scanned the region, and saw neither other enemies nor allies on the HUD. It was all up to him. Millions of people resided in New New York, and if these ships had their way, they’d drop every last bomb they had and rain pulse cannon fire over the city. He couldn’t let that happen.

  Ace fired his pulses in quick succession, taking down the closest ship’s shield in mere seconds. Another two shots and the ship veered off, exploding and splashing to the ocean below. The Watchers seemed to think the ground defense systems had done this, as they didn’t come for him. Good.

  Ace slid over, coming behind the next in line, and did the same thing, duplicating his results. They noticed then, but the lead ship still moved too slowly, and Ace watched as it reeled toward the coast, hitting the rocks at the edge of the ocean and what was once known as Rhode Island.

  Then there was one. Ace was feeling good about his chances, when he saw an alert scream out across his HUD. Incoming bomb. It flew from the racing Watcher fighter, and Ace only managed to duck in time to minimize the glazing blow. His shields went from one hundred percent to five percent with the concussion. He was diving, and he pulled up, seeing smoke pouring from the snub nose of the fighter.

  The enemy kept moving, and Ace saw they were only three minutes from the perimeter of the city. His ship was slowing down, the regular drive failing.

  He muttered to himself as he tried to think of a solution. Then it hit him.

  Ace brought a map up, tapped the location with a pin, and took his chances on a Shift. He hadn’t heard of it being done near the surface, but he had nothing to lose but his life, and compared to the millions they were nearing, that didn’t mean a lot. His ship jumped and hopped as he arrived at the new destination, and he watched the red icon approaching his ship. The Watcher was far below his position, lowering toward the city limits. Ace timed it.

  “Four…three…two…” He held his breath and released the bombs. He watched as their paths intersected with the incoming Watcher fighter, and he hit the detonate trigger prematurely, seeing the red icon vanish from his HUD. He let out a triumphant cheer, pumping both fists into the air of the cockpit.

  Then his ship went dark and began falling to the Earth.

  Serina

  Her brother was dead. Serina hadn’t known him, and he’d participated in screwing over the entire human population, so most of her hated Beck. But there was still a part of her that felt like throwing up as she walked into the room with the impostor. Benson was there too, staring at the man now covered by a cloak and scarf.

  “Doesn’t he look perfect? Now practice the s
peech again,” Benson told the crew member, and Serina thought he was doing a fairly good job. The voice wasn’t exactly the same, but she guessed under most circumstances, he’d fool his own people over a video communication. Likely most of them had never met him in person anyway.

  Benson sat the man down at the table and tapped his own chin with a finger. “A little more aggressive. You’re in charge, and they’d better do as you say.”

  The man gave it a try, and Serina was impressed with how well he took direction.

  “Good. Good. I think that will do.” Benson stepped away, making sure “Shadow” was in the center of the image he’d be relaying to the rest of the terrorist group. Serina knew they didn’t consider themselves terrorists, but there was no other way of labeling them.

  “Wait,” Serina said, and pulled the hood down over the doppelganger’s brow. “I’d say we’re ready. We have the communication channel?”

  Benson nodded. “We pulled it from the transport ship. Let’s go. You’ll come stand beside him after he says his piece.”

  Serina hoped this worked. Everything was riding on it. “Got it.” She tapped the built-in holotablet and contacted the bridge. “Foggle, Barkley, we’re ready for the Shift. Take us back to Mars.”

  “We’ll be there momentarily.” There was a slight pause from the pilot, then his voice trickled in. “We’re near Phobos. Say your piece before they attack.”

  Serina hit the channel for Shadow’s people, and the video started to relay onto all of their ships. She hoped.

  “Do not fire on this vessel. I am safely aboard. Much has been discussed, and I can tell you the details later, but now, we follow the Eureka and the Earth Fleet into battle. Our truce is over with the Raiders, and we have a new alliance with humanity,” the fake Shadow said.

  Serina saw dozens of live feeds streaming on the projector. Disbelieving faces showed on every one of them. Many of them started to speak at the same time.