Rise of Renegades Read online

  It walked on four legs, but had wings folded along its back. Powerful and muscular, the red drake partially unfolded its wings as it swung its head about. It sniffed the air and opened its jaws to reveal long, sharp teeth and a black tongue. Fire kindled in its throat as it growled, then erupted from its maw to ignite a nearby tree.

  Terrified to stillness, Siena huddled in the darkness. Heat washed across her body while cinders and ash drifted over them both.

  The drake sat back on its haunches, the new light reflecting in deep, multifaceted eyes that spoke to a malevolent intelligence. This close, she could see large bite marks in the drake’s neck and body, their size suggesting they’d come from drakes that were far larger. It was forty feet from nose to tail, yet it was probably young for its race. Its left wing had scars and tears in the leathery flesh, partially healed. Another scar was on its face, as if claws had ripped across its snout.

  Abruptly the drake’s foreclaw snatched out, catching a creature attempting to escape a burrow beneath the burning tree. It lifted the struggling animal and bit into the body. It went limp, and the drake swiveled to face the valley as it fed. Siena listened in horror, the seconds seeming to drag for hours before the drake finished its snack. Tossing the bloodied remains aside, it stepped to the edge of the cliff and unfurled its wings. Then it raised its wet snout and released a roar that rattled Siena’s bones. She clenched her eyes shut against the sound, and when she opened them, the cliff was empty.

  For several minutes Siena and Kensen huddled in deathly silence while the tree continued to burn, and ash drifted down on her head Only when the sounds of birds returned did Siena dare to relax her trembling limbs.

  In the darkness, Kensen’s smile was faint. “Enough practice for one night?”

  She didn’t even try to argue. “Deal.”

  She gave a vigorous nod, and the two wormed their way out of their hiding spot. Without a word, they hurried back up the trail, with frequent glances back to the cliff. It wasn’t until they approached the lights of the camp that she considered how close they’d come to being eaten. That was when her fear turned to guilt and anger. If she could not even fight a drake, how could augments defy an Empire? She told herself Kensen was right. It was impossible. Mankind was not meant to be free. But the dream refused to be extinguished, and in the deepest recesses of Siena’s mind, hope for freedom continued to burn.

  Chapter Two

  In the holochamber of the Nova, Ero sat on a crate against the wall, his feet on the controls to the holochamber. He picked a particularly succulent piece of fruit from the tray at his side. He idly wondered if Telik had realized had some of his food stores had gone missing as he popped it into his mouth. At the center of the chamber, a holo of their new planet was gradually taking shape. Most of the world was still dark, indicating the scan had not been completed.

  The door opened and Siena stood in the opening. “You summoned me?” she asked, stifling a yawn.

  Ero pointed across the room to a holo emitter that was sputtering. “Fix that, would you?”

  She stared at him, and slowly leaned over to twist the holo emitter. It lit up, and a portion of the planet at the center stopped flickering. The curve of the planet expanded a few inches to show a section of plains.

  “Much better.” He picked up another fruit, this time a delgon nectarine.

  “You summoned me because you didn’t want to get up?” she asked, incredulous.

  A slave speaking like that to their owner would typically earn an instant burning, delivered via nerve activation through the slave’s earring leash. But Ero had grown to appreciate Siena’s candor, so instead of punishing her, he grinned.

  “I wager you’ve been asked to do far worse,” he said.

  Siena gave a sour grunt. “It’s true.” She then noticed the hovering globe. “Is that Lumineia?”

  “We’re scanning the planet for a permanent location,” he said. “Skorn says we are in the heart of drake country, so we need to move.”

  “Already? We’ve only been here a few weeks.”

  Ero shrugged and pointed to the holo. “The Nova isn’t exactly equipped to scan an entire planet. We need to know where to go or we could end up somewhere even less stable.”

  She stifled a second yawn. “Are we training later?”

  The eagerness in her voice made Ero smile. The girl had an illegal weapon and was illegally training to fight on an illegal planet, but she was never satisfied. Still, she was obviously tired, so Ero tossed a piece of fruit toward her. It bounced off her head.

  “You shouldn’t be sneaking out at night,” he said.

  She blanched. “You knew?”

  “I invented sneaking out,” Ero said. “Or, at the very least, I perfected it. And you are terrible at not getting caught. I’ve had to distract my brother and two dakorians so they didn’t catch you.”

  She winced. “I thought I was careful.”

  “Not enough,” he said. “You’d think with all those augments, you’d be more stealthy.”

  He picked up another berry, idly wondering why he’d protected her. Skorn thought she should be punished, but Ero actively enjoyed helping Siena sneak out. Against all reason and historical precedent, he trusted Siena.

  “Why didn’t you tell me you knew?” Siena asked, some of her embarrassment turning to anger. “Or stop me?”

  “Because I want you to get better with your augments. The better you are, the more valuable you become.” He paused and gave the girl an appraising look. “I assumed you were secretly training, not sneaking off to fool around with Kensen.”

  Siena flushed crimson. “I’m not—I didn’t—I don’t . . .”

  Ero grinned and tossed the berry into his mouth. “Let’s keep it that way. There’s no telling what romantic entanglements might do to your augments.”

  Her face brightened to an interesting shade of red. Could humans turn such a color? Apparently they could. It was actually close to the shade of berries on the tray, and Ero picked one up to compare. Exactly the same. How interesting.

  “Is there anything else you need?” she asked.

  “Actually, there is,” Ero said. “I want to see how much you’ve been practicing.”

  Siena, her face still bright red, pulled the energy blade from the hidden pouch at the small of her back. She held it out to the side and pressed the rune on the hilt. Energy flowed out of the hilt and extended into a long, flat blade that glowed a shade of purple. It was an ancient weapon, and not strong enough to pierce or sever seracrete. But it did just fine against bones and flesh.

  “How does this even work?” she asked, turning the blade side to side.

  “You want to understand engineering?” He raised an eyebrow. “You must really want to change the subject from Kensen.”

  She glared at him. “Are you going to answer the question or not?”

  He grinned. “Energy blades use charged photons that are bonded to ions of a special metal called vakron. In the blade, they form a stable matrix that makes it turn into a solid.”

  “So it’s solidified light,” she said.

  “Basically.” He shrugged. “I didn’t really pay attention to my course on subatomic particles.”

  “Why not?”

  “It’s hard to pay attention when you’re asleep.”

  He used his boot to activate the holochamber. The walls faded away, leaving just the planet floating in the center of the room. A dakorian and a krey appeared, both flickering from the load on the system.

  “Kill them,” Ero said. “If you can.”

  She eyed the two opponents and circled the floating planet. The two combatants attacked in sequence, and Siena dodged and weaved. The krey attacked with his own blade, slicing through air as the girl retreated.

  Ero nodded his approval as he watched the girl fight. Siena was young for a human slave, with blond hair and a slim frame. But what she lacked in size and strength she made up for in grit. The girl had more force than the engine of Er
o’s ship. Her defiance had earned her the brand burned into her throat, marking her as a ferox. Who would have thought he would value a slave branded for rebellion?

  “You haven’t been training,” he admonished, recognizing her sluggish movements. “You sure you haven’t been seeing Kensen in the woods?”

  “Positive,” she shot back.

  He continued to savor his meal as Siena fought the two holos. She warmed to the fight, and soon she was matching their attacks and even returning her own. Of course, the combat simulation was on a low setting, but a human holding their own was still impressive.

  “Your augments are getting stronger,” Ero said. “Are you going to tell me them all?”

  “No,” she called over her shoulder as she ducked the dakorian’s hammer.

  He laughed, amused by her defiance. Ero had bought Siena several months ago, at a deep discount, mostly because of her ferox brand. Telik’s experiment had been successful in turning her and a handful of other slaves into augments, but it had not created the girl’s defiance. She’d brought that all on her own. Despite his earlier comment, it was clear the girl had been practicing, and her skill was growing. Ero had trained far more, but the girl was innovative and forceful, and he wondered if one day she would actually be better. The duel intensified the longer it went, until finally she managed to kill the krey. The dakorian’s hammer hit her in the back, ending the simulation.

  Her chest heaving, she stood next to the world. “Was that necessary?” she demanded.

  “Absolutely,” Ero said fervently.

  She glowered at him, but he just picked up a nut from his tray.

  “Consider it punishment for not training enough.”

  “How exactly do you expect me to train?” Siena asked. “I’m still a slave, remember? Every time the dakorians see me with a weapon they look ready to snap my spine.”

  Ero shrugged, a teasing smile forming on his face. “I can always find another secret training partner.”

  “No. You can’t.”

  This time Siena smiled, and Ero couldn’t argue. She was right. Of the nine slaves owned by House Bright’Lor, none would go near an energy blade, except for maybe Kensen, Siena’s friend. She dismissed the energy blade and tucked it away.

  “You really did stay out too late,” he said.

  “So this was punishment?”

  “I did say you should be practicing,” he said. “Or at least bringing back something good.”

  “I did see a drake.”

  “Really?” He was delighted by the girl’s survival. “How close were you?”

  “Too close,” she said, and shivered.

  “What color?” he asked.

  “A red, young if I’m not mistaken,” she said.

  He could see the girl’s fear, and that just made him more curious. They’d spotted the flying beasts from a distance, but had yet to encounter one up close. Ero couldn’t wait to examine one of the creatures.

  “Why didn’t you kill it?” he asked.

  “Because that would have been stupid,” she said. “And I don’t have your talent for luck.”

  “No one does,” he lamented.

  The door opened, framing Skorn against the backlight. The mood in the holochamber changed in an instant, and the girl lowered her gaze. Ero just went back to eating while Skorn’s eyes noted the sweat on Siena’s face and her flushed features.

  “Go help Lyn cool the primary cortex,” Skorn said. “It’s overheating.”

  “As you order,” she said, and quickly left.

  When she was gone, Skorn approached Ero and pushed his feet. “Get your feet off the controls. You’re going to get food in the holo emitters.”

  Ero settled his feet on a second crate. “You know, I don’t think I ever fully appreciated the flavor of the raspberry. You think it would take to the soil here?”

  “You should be more concerned about our situation than your breakfast,” Skorn said, obviously annoyed as he activated the controls and ran diagnostics. It came back with multiple errors.

  “Why?” Ero chose another fruit and admired the perfect shape before tossing it into his mouth.

  “Because the planet’s initial report was two millennia ago, and the planet looks very little like it did then. The Nova’s primary cortex can barely handle the scan, and the drakes are getting more and more aggressive.”

  “We’re in a dome shield,” Ero said. “It’s not like they can get to us.”

  “Reklin is worried they can burrow beneath the ground.”

  Ero perked up. “Really? You think we’ll get to see one?”

  “Do you take anything seriously?” Skorn demanded. “If we don’t find a suitable location for a permanent settlement, the drakes are going to come after us the way they did the survey team. You want to know how many they ate? Nineteen out of twenty-three. And five of the six dakorians.”

  “They must have been hungry.” Ero picked up another piece. “You think they were forced to skip breakfast?”

  Skorn grunted, but it was half exasperated, and half amused. “This is serious, Ero. We need to find a location for a permanent settlement soon, one as far from the drakes as possible.”

  Ero rolled his eyes and picked up more fruit. “We’re sitting on a secret world. Can’t I enjoy it for a few minutes?”

  “No.” Skorn frowned in disapproval as Ero approached. “Have I told you I hate it when you train with her?”

  “Many times,” he replied. “I’m still going to ignore you.”

  “Please tell me you are at least studying her augments,” Skorn said.

  “As best as I can tell, she can manipulate gravity, her body, cortex manipulation, and healing. I can’t wait to see what else she has.”

  “She’s dangerous, brother, and we will probably have to kill her. You cannot grow attached, especially to a ferox.”

  “She’s just a slave,” Ero said, and wondered if he sounded convincing. Krey did not have friends, only allies and enemies, and yet friend was the only word he would have used to describe the girl. She’d saved his life—twice—and was risking her own to help him train.

  “We have work to do,” Skorn said, pointing to the floating holo of the planet.

  “On a day like this?”

  Ero tabbed the holo controls with his boot, and the room changed to a view of the outside of the ship. Brilliant sunlight illuminated the clearing under the shield dome, and the long valley that extended beneath their camp.

  “I’ve never seen a sky so unpolluted,” Ero said.

  He expected Skorn to remind him of their father’s impending tribunal, when he would almost certainly be executed unless House Bright’Lor could find enough glint to pay for his freedom—glint that would come from the sale of augmented slaves. Instead, his brother paused and looked upward.

  “You’re right,” he said. “This planet is everything we had hoped for.”

  “You agree with me?” Ero eyed his brother. “Are you feeling well?”

  “Krey do not get sick,” Skorn said with a faint smile.

  “You sure?” Ero lifted the tray and offered it to him. “Maybe you need to eat more.”

  Skorn shook his head, but his expression was more amused than annoyed. “You have a talent for lightening the most serious of moments, you know that?”

  “It’s a gift,” Ero said.

  “Well I have a talent for knowing what needs to be done to avoid horrible deaths,” Skorn said.

  “I think mine’s better.”

  “Maybe,” Skorn said. “But since we’re about to die horrible deaths, do you mind if we focus on our work now?”

  Ero picked up the last few berries and ate them. “I guess.”

  “Thank you,” Skorn said.

  Skorn launched into a description of the numerous tasks that needed to be completed. Cool the cortex, train the slaves, measure their abilities in a comprehensive format, repair the Nova, clean the Nova, and, most importantly, select a permanent site for the future s
ettlement. Ero did his best to pay attention, but his eyes drifted to the four soldiers training the augments.

  The holo was still focused on the exterior of the ship, so Ero had a clear view of the four dakorians working with the augmented slaves. At ten feet tall, with a bone exoskeleton, the dakorians were as dangerous as they were efficient. Skorn had gotten lucky to acquire their contracts for their House at so low a cost, even if Reklin was hornless.

  The augments vacillated between struggle and victory as they worked on harnessing their new abilities. Most were busy cleaning the hull of the ship, which hadn’t seen a cleaning mech in ages, but Ero never got tired of watching the dakorians teach discipline to a human with powerful abilities.

  Skorn noticed his distraction. “Sometimes I still can’t believe that Telik managed to create augments,” he said. “It’s been tried and failed so many times I thought it impossible.”

  Ero’s lips curled in disgust at mention of the krey scientist who’d perfected the experiment—after killing thousands of humans in his previous failures. He may have been brilliant, but he was intolerably arrogant.

  “When does he arrive?” Ero asked.

  “His biosphere station won’t arrive for another month,” Skorn said. “It seems he was already running low on power, and his gravity drive has just enough to get him to this system.”

  “How soon do we get to kill him?”

  Skorn smiled faintly. “We need a full stock of slaves to seed this planet. Once he augments them all, we’ll be able to eliminate him.”

  “And save ourselves the percentage we agreed to pay him when the slaves are sold,” Ero said with a nod.

  “This batch of augments alone is worth enough to get father out of the tribunal,” Skorn said. “Too bad we can’t sell them yet.”

  “Why not?” Ero asked. “The two males with the fire augment would be worth ten million glint, at least.”

  “And it would confirm to the Empire that someone has augmented slaves,” Skorn said.

  “They probably already know,” Ero scoffed.