Rebirth (Game of the Gods Book 1)

by L. Fergus

  Popping up behind Galina’s container, Kita hurled a pair of fireballs at two of the soldiers. Each turned and used his pack to shield him. Kita snapped her fingers and the tiny red balls hidden inside detonated, blowing them apart.

  Kita landed on the container, swords ready. The remaining three soldiers put themselves between Galina and Kita.

  “How stupidly brave of you, who wishes to die first?” said Kita.

  Kita hopped backward off the container as they fired at her. The three soldiers ran to the edge.

  “She’ll be behind us, you idiots!” Galina raged.

  The soldiers turned. Kita reached up, grabbed one by the leg, and yanked him off the container, slitting his throat. She floated upward back onto the container.

  “We both know to strike where least expected,” Kita said to Galina. “Why would you think I’d be behind you?” Her appearance stunned Galina and her soldiers. Kita pointed her palms at the soldiers and set them ablaze with lances of flame.

  Kita smiled. “Just me and you. Which body part would you like to lose first?”

  “I’m only trying to help you.”

  “You’re trying to help yourself. I don’t know what happened to you or what I did to upset you, but are you going to throw your life away on vengeance that you can’t bring?”

  Galina ground her teeth. “You stopped loving me. Jane, Snowy, Roo, Panther…you loved all of them, why not me? What did I do wrong?”

  Did I actually love so many? I wish I knew who those people were. I don’t remember loving Galina or why I stopped. “If I did love you, I don’t now nor will I ever again. But, if I had to guess, it looks like you love you more than you ever loved me. And I know I could never be with someone like that. I can’t give you a better answer to your question until I find answers of my own.”

  “Kita,” Rabbit yelled from overhead. “We’ve got incoming.”

  A pair of gunboats glided into the dock’s atmospheric membrane. Kita turned back as Galina stepped away with her dagger. Kita performed a double corkscrew kick, her boot striking Galina’s damaged face. The woman landed on the container with a dull thud. Kita took off after the gunboats.

  Kita used a giant crane boom to screen herself, as the micro-thin edges of Dusk and Dawn began to glow white-hot. She flew in an arc that took her to the ceiling of the port, and then dove on the nearest gunboat.

  The gunners on the boat saw Kita too late. Striking the boat with Dawn midship, she flared her wings to carry her around the underside of the boat. The boat twisted after she cut through the keel. Kita inserted a red ball into the hull, and the boat exploded.

  Kita didn’t get a chance to enjoy her work. The other boat fired at her. Dodging to her left, she threw a pair of stars at the boat’s gunners. Putting her shield up, she charged the boat.

  “That’s the last of them,” Rabbit called to Lacy. She circled back to help Kita. She squeaked in surprise. “Neptune’s rings, we’ve got to get out of here!” she yelled over the comm.

  “The gantry’s still in place,” said Lacy.

  “We’ve got a Shadow Fleet heavy frigate moving in. We don’t get out now, we won’t.”

  “It takes ten minutes to retract the gantry.”

  “Take off with it then,” Rabbit ordered.

  “If it’s still attached, it will ruin the FTL calibration.”

  “Then blow the emergency explosive bolts on it,” said Rabbit, remembering her cadet training aboard the UEE heavy attack cruiser Paris.

  “We’ll get them, lass. You get that big chicken aboard,” said Auggy.

  “Open the rear portside airlocks. We might be coming in hot.”

  “Aye, lass. We’ll be ready and waiting.”

  Rabbit clicked her mic as a response and then hurried to catch up to Kita.

  Kita stood on the open deck of the second gunboat, engaging the six Marines and sailors. With a powerful strike of her wing, she sent a Marine behind her over the side. She moved back and forth dodging pistol shots from the sailors. Taking a distraction bomb from her belt, she spiked it on the deck. The bright flash and loud noise stunned the crew, except for one. A seasoned looking Marine jumped at her with a combat knife. She spun, raising her bracer to block him. Sarge flew through the deck to grab the man by the throat.

  Kita jumped back and cut two stunned sailors down. Behind her, a scream went mute as Sarge’s ice froze a Marine solid. Loud, dull thumps from a heavy machine gun tore up the deck around her in a wild pattern. Whoever is shooting must be scared out of their mind. She jumped to the top of the boat’s wheelhouse. She landed next to the Marine and destroyed the gun.

  She grabbed him by his gear and spun him around. He was tall, six-foot-six-inches, but still too young to have filled out. She looked into his eyes. He was scared, rightfully so, but the fear hadn’t stopped him, but driven him.

  The roar of the maneuver jets of the Dallas drew her attention. The freighter was pushing away at full speed, ignoring the damage it did to the port facilities. An explosion bathed everything in a momentary yellowish light.

  “It’s your lucky day, boy,” Kita snarled. “I’m not going to kill you. I’ve got a much worse fate in store for you.”

  “Kita, another set of gunboats!” Rabbit yelled.

  “I’ll get them, you take this and get him aboard,” Kita said, tossing the young Marine to Rabbit. Kita turned and took off for the gunboats.

  Time becoming critical, Kita drew Midnight and attached a red ball to the shaft of an arrow and fired it into a gunboat’s hull and detonated the bomb. The underside of the gunboat exploded, flipping the boat on a wild three-axis tumble.

  On the other boat, a torpedo bay opened, and the blunt tip with a shark’s face painted on it peered out. Positioning herself between the gunboat and the freighter, Kita reached for an arrow. By the Crushing Depths. Empty. Guess we’ll do this the hard way. She charged the boat.

  Kita reached the gunboat as the torpedo launched. Ignoring the gunfire, she darted in front of the torpedo and punched the smiling shark, while raising her heat shield at the same time. The blast ripped the gunboat apart. Her heat shield trapped part of the blast. The shield acted like an amplifier, shaking her in a sonic blender. The shield collapsed when she passed out.

  Rabbit watched the explosion from the freighter’s rear airlock.

  “Kita’s in trouble. I’ve got to go get her,” Rabbit called to the bridge as she jumped out the airlock. “And send Hawke down to this airlock. Kita brought him a present.”

  “We’re just about clear of the screen. I can’t leave the airlocks open,” said Lacy.

  “Close all but the last one,” Rabbit ordered. With the VI’s help, she plotted the best course to catch Kita. Transferring all power to her jets, she passed Kita and made a fifteen-G turn to catch the stricken Angel. “Got you,” she whispered, and then took off after the freighter.

  “Are you on board yet?” Lacy demanded.

  “Not yet,” said Rabbit.

  “You’re not going to make it.”

  “Leave it open. I can take space.”

  “She can’t!”

  “She can take it long enough to get to you.”

  “If you kill her, it’s on you.”

  “If I kill her, I’ll be so well rewarded I won’t need to be doing this.”

  “Seriously?” said Hawke.

  “Yes, but collecting might be hazardous to your health.”

  “Yeah, but…”

  “Trust me. I’ve met the people who held her. But, it’s not them you’ll have to worry about. It’s those who want her alive that you’ll have to worry about. And they have a far longer reach than the Emperor.”

  “Who’s got a longer reach than her?”

  “Ask Kita when she wakes up.”

  The freighter exploded from underneath.

  “Taking fire from that frigate,” reported Lacy in a calm voice.

  And when have you been under fire? “How long can you last?”

&nbs
p; “This is a freighter. If they hit us with anything besides those flashlights, we’re done. Where are you?”

  “Almost there. I’m just aft of the first module.”

  “Well, get—” The freighter rocked from another blast, cutting Lacy off.

  “Lacy, can you hear me?” said Rabbit.

  “I’ve got you.” Lacy’s reply contained a lot of static. “But I’ve got a panel full of blinking lights.”

  Rabbit made a sharp turn into the airlock, banging against the wall to stop. “I’m in. Close the airlock and let’s go.” Sarge appeared from the wall and took guard of Kita.

  “I can’t go anywhere. That last blast knocked the FTL out of alignment.”

  “Just jump,” Rabbit yelled.

  “If we jump, who knows where we’ll end up.”

  “Listen, sister,” Rabbit barked. “You wanted adventure, you’ve got it. Jump.”

  “Do it, lass,” said Auggy. “We for sure be space dust if we stay here. We got a chance of not being on the other end.”

  Rabbit held Kita, waiting, with a lump in her throat as she urged the others to move faster. The feeling of falling overwhelmed her as the airlock fell away to nothing.

  Kita woke and frowned. If this room isn’t a girl’s worst nightmare. She stood in a box with mirrors covering each side. Her reflection disappeared off into infinity. My makeup’s gone, but my hair nearly touches the floor. She smiled happily over her hair. Looking down at the rest of herself, she saw her armor had been repaired, and she had fresh arrows in her quiver. So where am I? She remembered punching the torpedo and then being shaken unconscious. This doesn’t look like a human prison cell or if it is, it’s meant to drive me mad.

  Her reflections vanished. She looked down at her hands and couldn’t see them, and then they became visible in a different spectrum. Heat. This is nice, but how do I change back? At the speed of thought, her reflection appeared in the mirrors and her vision changed back to normal. “That’s a neat trick,” she smiled at herself in the mirror. So, am I on a friendly ship or a really stupid enemy’s?

  But before I go anywhere… She pulled out her makeup kit and reapplied. Starting at the base of her skull, she created three braids, and then braided them into one heavy braid. She melted a hole in the center of a throwing star and wove it into the end of her braid.

  I guess I’m ready to face the world. She banged the mirrors trying to get attention until she ran out of patience. She drifted to the ceiling to the one mirror that sounded different. She struck the mirror with her fist, but it showed no damage. If force doesn’t work, let’s try heat. Placing her hand against the surface, the mirror sagged and melted, revealing a metal honeycomb structure. She cut out a section and the three-foot-diameter piece fell to the floor. With a playful hop, she jumped through the hole, into a passageway.

  The white passageway was twice her height and three times as wide. What needs a passage this wide in space, or am I even in space? One direction was a dead end, while the other led to a blue colored passage. With only one way to go, she moved forward confidently.

  Everything is seamlessly constructed. I could be passing the doors to Rabbit, Raph, and the crew. She wanted to free them, but she needed to know more first.

  The left corner of the intersection opened. Kita’s eyebrows went up. We’re not in human space, that’s for sure. I never would have guessed rock golems in space. It had a black crust with short legs, long arms, and molten red joints. The half melon thing on top must be its head.

  The middle of the golem’s chest opened. The heat from its molten core blasted her. It let out an angry roar that made Kita’s braid move.

  Feeling cheeky, she blew it a kiss as a reply.

  The golem roared again at her.

  “Where are my friends?” she yelled.

  The golem roared and charged her.

  Kita shrugged. “Ok, I’ll play.” She charged the golem. Kita dodged the rock pile’s first blow. Their next set of blows landed at the same time. She sailed backward, landing on her back, and rolled over backward to her feet. The taste of metal exploded in her mouth. Wiping her mouth with her hand, she came away with blood. Her eyes closed and she shivered. “Hmmm, yummy…”

  The golem staggered backward. It appeared shaken that Kita not only had stopped him but also had sent him backward. It banged on its rocky chest and roared at Kita.

  “Ok, rock pile, you want to play, let’s play,” Kita whispered, drawing Dusk and Dawn. The cutting edge of the blades glowed white. She pointed Dusk at the golem and fired a fireball. It splashed off harmlessly but succeeded in making it charge her.

  Kita took a few steps and leaped into the air. The golem swung, and Kita flattened out into a roll. Dusk slashed at the golem’s fist as it sailed below her. Her roll became a summersault, and as she planted both feet in the creature’s face, Dawn cut it across the chest. She whipped her head forward, the glowing star at the end of her braid snagged the back of the creature’s head, and she dropped down and swung between its legs, slashing as she went by. With a powerful yank of her head, the outmaneuvered golem stumbled on its injured legs. As it fell, the arm Kita had slashed broke off from the impact. The slash across the chest opened, and bits of lava dripped out, hardening on the floor.

  Kita jumped onto the golem’s back and plunged Dawn up to the hilt. She twisted and withdrew. Lava erupted and ran red over the golem, hardening on its sides and the floor.

  “King Arthur, eat your heart out.” She moved into the area formally occupied by the golem.

  Inside, she found a giant workstation suitable for a creature of the golem’s size. She glided up. She expected the panel to show more wear from a rock poking at it. It gave no clue of her companions’ whereabouts.

  The sound of movement from the blue corridor caught her attention. Back to the Fallen Angel, let’s see if I can get part of it to work this time. She vanished from sight. Peeking around the corner, she saw two armored creatures with the upper half like a dog, the lower half like a goat, with something akin to assault rifles trotting toward her.

  Kita backed away and let the pair turn the corner. They saw the downed golem and their cool demeanor changed. One stopped, put his hand to his ear and spoke while waving the other dog forward to check on the golem. No unique sounds to their language. I could probably learn it.

  She moved to the dog giving orders. As she crept closer, she studied its anatomy. Instead of fur, it was covered by bony plates or hard quills. It wore body armor, similar in style to the Marines, covered in an orange and brown pattern. The armor suggested a world with orange vegetation.

  Kita plunged Dusk into the creature’s chest. She withdrew and spun, beheading it with Dawn. The attack alerted the other dog. It saw its dead comrade. When it didn’t see her, it shot randomly.

  Kita glided over the shots. She turned visible a few feet to the side of the dog. It swung his rifle toward her firing wildly. Kita brought Dusk down, slicing through the weapon. She spun with Dawn.

  A series of loud hisses came from the intersection. Dawn came to rest against the dog’s neck. She chuckled at the new arrivals. They looked like giant rabbits. “Jess is not going to like this.” But this does leave me in an awkward position if they aren’t friendly. I wish I were on the other side of the dog.

  The world shifted to another dimension. The normal world was still there, but it in muted colors. From the depth of her mind, the term phasing appeared. It appeared more than just her body and armor were fixed, but another piece of her mind. She walked around the dog and put Dusk to its throat, and Dawn to the middle of its back. She told her body it was time to return, and the world returned to full color.

  Kita slammed Dawn through the dog. “Sorry, buddy. I don’t want you doing something foolish.” She placed Dusk against its throat. She couldn’t hide her smile over the new arrivals facing her. Their heads looked exactly like a rabbit’s with their ears pulled backward and held down their backs. They had large torsos with rabbit-like
feet evolved for bi-pedal motion. I wonder if they can hop. All five had different markings and stood seven feet tall.

  I’m going to guess the one wearing the sashes with a color pattern only a three-year-old finger painter could appreciate is the leader. A sarong wrapped around each bunny’s waist creating a triangle opening just above their knees and going to the floor in the back. The leader held in its hand what looked like a scepter with a blue egg. The rest held staves similar to the scepter. Behind them, six more dogs looked annoyed that the bunnies were standing in their way.

  The bunny leader said something to her that she didn’t understand.

  I’m surprised it can talk around those buckteeth. “I want my friends, my ship, and to be let go!” Kita yelled back. “Or you’ll all join them,” Kita motioned with her head to the dog and golem.

  The bunny leader spoke again. From the way he motioned, he seemed to be telling the others to back down.

  “I’m sorry, I don’t speak bunny,” Kita yelled, “but I will speak to Jessica Rabbit.” I wonder how many rabbit jokes I can make—probably more than enough to enrage Jess.

  “Stop, stop, stop,” a voice called in Common with an odd accent.

  Kita watched as the dogs parted and two of the bunny warriors made enough room for the newcomer. Kita relaxed her grip on Dusk and Dawn as her mouth fell open. “By the Crushing Depths, I hope you’re the female of your species,” she whispered.

  With looks like that, that bunny has to be female. She was as tall as Kita with slender and much more delicate features. Her head was one-quarter of the size of the males’, round, with larger eyes, a delicate nose and mouth, and just a hint of teeth. Her ears stood erect, with an assortment of piercings and earrings decorating her right ear. A ruff of fur encircled the base of her neck. She wore a colorful sarong like the males, but in a pleasant primary watercolor pattern. It covered what looked like breasts, or some piece of rabbit anatomy that looked similar, down to her mid thigh. Her legs looked much like the males’, but cuter. Her fur wasn’t as long as the males’, and she was all white.