The Rebellion - Short Story Series

[Stormbringer]

how do you even make a new post anyway? I'm thinking of doing a fan-fic for the new mod Im making (its gonna be called The Crown of Thorns) and I can't make a new post. And how do I post .ftl files?

[DarkPhoenix141]

Top left of page is a "New Post" button. Make sure you're on the Stories and Storytelling board though.

You can add attachments... somehow. There's a little attachment button down below that lets you add files if you already have them. If you're asking how to mod there's a subforum for that, since I haven't the first clue.

[DarkPhoenix141]

Sorry for the short one, I have no idea where to take Taylor's story and I do like leaving cliffhangers so I'm going to make this brief to establish a longer story. Don't worry, I have big things in mind.

If you guys would like to see some of my OTHER writing on this site (Off topic forum exists), feel free to ask.

IFS Exodus, mid FTL Jump

Taylor ordered the warp to commence and began the preparation procedures. All of the less experienced crew ran into the most central room or prepared to hug the toilet, as they hadn't exactly gotten their space legs just yet. Taylor was not one such crewman, he could sit in his exposed cockpit with a fair degree of certainty that he wouldn't vomit or end up crying in the fetal position.

"Where are we headed, sir?" Eric Field, senior boarding adviser and among the best at his job, questioned using the ship's comm system. Taylor sank in his seat, confused "No idea, away from the Rebels if possible."

Field did not respond, there was nothing else to talk about.

[DarkPhoenix141]

This was originally meant to be a cluster of posts that didn't follow any storyline at first. It grew pretty quick despite not being particularly popular.

Side Note: The "Trio" as mentioned consists of: The wounded soldier, Lisa and Harris.

The Pirate Enclave

The soldier's ancient ballistic SMG fired, a cone of hot lead flying at the red and white Rebel forces on the wall as they tried to change targets from the small escape pod to the small figures in the side of the cesspool. The deafening roar of the rusty gun as it tried so hard to outmatch its predecessors as if to say "Hey! I'm still worth something!"

To an extent, it wasn't wrong, it clipped one grunt and put him behind the wall across the water. "That's it! That's our cover!" The soldier cried, running deeper into the hole used to flush waste into the central pool. The other two followed, ducking further inside and away from the angry gunmen.

Rebel comms filled with chatter about the escape and the injury of one of the troops "Derricks is down!" cried one line "They're in that damn hole!" cried another. The commander, sitting at a small outpost as his crack brigade moved across the hostile streets of the outlaw world, growled angrily. "Victoria!" He shouted into the mic, growling the best rebel sniper's name, "Kill them before they get too deep into the tunnels."

The sniper stood atop a roof, just behind the small fireteam consisting of an injured man and two other shooters. She was cloaked in a cloth cape, wearing a pleasant tight suit that had pleasant maneuverability, a pair of finger-less gloves and a face concealing helmet. She fired, clipping the leg of the injured Federation soldier. However, before she could finish the job, he was dragged away.

"I wounded one, that oughta slow 'em down."

[DarkPhoenix141]

Little filler.

"And the stench of death will drive you, your armies, your legions, your family and your people from the holes in which you hide. The endless inundation of blood spilled from your misdeeds will drown you in your sins. And when you lie battered and bloodied at the base of a corpse hill, pray to your god we never meet again.
- Poem inscribed on the Rebel cruiser "Desolation"

The IFS Exodus landed in an abandoned merchant sector, once protected by Federation Sentinels now redirected to assault the rebels before they could regroup and fight the Federation en masse. The Exodus would normally partake in such a conflict, but they had survivors from Horizon City aboard and the risk was simply too great. Of course, they probably wouldn't fair much better out here in abandoned space with pirates and bandits and rogues around every corner.

Neither Taylor nor Fields knew where they were heading, but if they stayed still they were all dead.

Morale was as low as it's ever been.

[DarkPhoenix141]

Plot advancement! I'm giving this series some love now.

Once these few escape the Pirate Enclave, expect some of the grand-scheme plot to be followed a little more. And soon!

The Pirate Enclave, Victorias sniper nest.

"That 'oughta slow them down"

That was what her instincts told her anyways. One wounded member of the Federation trio would slow the rest of them down unless they abandoned him, which would shatter their fighting spirit rightly. It didn't matter now though, they were out of her line of sight. No angel of death could strike what it could not see, she would have to move.

Into the cesspool. Oh god. Three feds? Was it even worth it?

Command thought so.

She sighed and jumped off her watch post into the three Rebels below. They paused their constant barrage to tend to their injured man, his armor pierced by a jagged tipped round that fragmented inside him like barbed wire. "Feds are fightin' a dirty war now!" Said one of the two grunts below "Hey Victoria! They used fucking frag rounds! This poor soul's gonna be in the hospital for weeks..."

The sniper said nothing. She had seen it before during her days as a soldier, during her days as a mercenary, during her days as a pirate and hell when the Rebellion first began.

"They're not far." She hissed "Get men in there, keep the enemy moving. If we can wear them out, we can cut them down. Move!"

Those three rebels were quickly accompanied by another batch of three, a detachment from the legions occupying the streets in the hunt for more dissidents. The three federation loyalists were far into the cesspit at this point, but they would have one helluva time getting out. The pipeline was a maze, if they got lost it could take them days to escape.

She had them now.

[DarkPhoenix141]

Next chapter is coming a bit slow, sorry people.

[DarkPhoenix141]

I'm alive! More plot advancement! I advise rereading though, you might have forgotten some of the characters.

Elsewhere...

Harris was charging through the sewer, Lisa right behind him dragging the soldier who's name they had never known. "They're coming after us!" Lisa shouted, glancing over her shoulder only to see a group of ragtag Rebels at the entrance to the sewer. Far behind them, but still not a pleasant sight when you're a Federation weapons officer dragging an injured soldier and you don't have many escape routes. The sloshing of lord-knows-what under their boots are enough to make anyone wretch, but the situation didn't call for stopping now. "Can you walk yet?!" She hissed in a voice angrier than she hoped for originally, sewage splashing onto her clothes as she carried him.

"I'll be slower walking!"

"What's your name?!" Her meek voice struggling to continue over the sounds of splashing refuse and light gunfire behind them. There was a hesitant pause, not silent as the trio chaotically fled their impending doom. Lisa could have figured a better time to ask a dumb personal question, but with death hot on their heels there was no guarantee they would ever have another chance. She grunted, her legs giving out under the strain of the soldier and his body armor.

It seemed to prompt a response from the reserved soldier. "Dover! Corporal Ronald Dover, 14th assault squadron. Rebel drones hit my squad, we got picked up by your old ship before... y'know."

Lisa's thoughts drifted back to survival mode, learning about their new friend could wait, for now he had to contribute. The three feds took the sharpest right away from the gradually increasing horde of Rebel forces. The Rebels never really cared for traditional disciplines in combat, not even the organized Vagrant Guard, but here they seemed to go into a downright frenzy as they swarmed at these three dissidents. To them it was a personal affront, to them it was something tantamount to the deaths of all their comrades waging a pointless war against the Federation. The dozens of unwelcome Rebels wielding crudely stitched together stolen weapons moved into the sewer. All of them except one.

Victoria Gates, a Rebel sniper. She was by the bloodstain of the injured rebel from before, watching for any sneaky xenos that might take a potshot at the incoming droves of Rebels. The occupation of the Pirate Enclave might not be the Rebellion's smartest move, but she just wanted some action anyways. She did not want to get the feces of many species on her good suit though. If command gave a shit they'd have to get off their comfy panic rooms they call "forward command centers" and say it to her face. Whatever, she had business to attend to.

"Command," She started "Those feds? They're probably dead I'm going on lunch break."

There was no response.

[DarkPhoenix141]

Still alive! Gonna try and update this a little more frequently now.

Planning on a "The Story Thus Far" post soon, to remind people of what this story is about.

On the Pirate Enclave World

The enclave world was more like a shantytown. It was one of the few such havens that predates the rebellion, functioning out of a lawless zone where the Federation never quite seized control. Vagrants and mean folk of all kind gathered there, their only uniting factor was a love of cash and a hatred of rules. Nobody cared about anything else.

War changes things though. The enclave was next on the roster for rebel conquest. It was a monument to everything they hated, like Horizon City was.

Atop a perch, looking into a sewage basin, a lone sniper stared at the angered horde of rebel militiamen. She buzzed command a second time, gritting her teeth in frustration.

"No response, same as usual." The sniper scoffed. The local rebel commanders were a paranoid and fickle bunch.

Victoria Gates was a mercenary, or a former mercenary, she couldn't tell anymore. Her vague sense of independence did give her special fiat to belay orders and not chase three random Federation bootlickers into a sewer. She already injured one, she didn't need to do anything.

So she left. The sniper sauntered off through the village. The haven was buzzing with activity, sporadic mobs of rebel soldiers sprinting through the streets. Outlaws of all races, species and creeds receded into the shadows.

The Rebellion was here, the Rebellion was going to cleanse this world, and then another, and then another. They would usher in a new age of human dominance not ruled by weak simpletons. The idea didn't resonate with her, in all honesty.

Part of her felt sorry for them. These people were outlaws, mercenaries and pirates, under a different banner she might have fought with them. Not today though. Victoria continued on her little walk through the town.

Meanwhile, in the sewer

The trio was barely ahead of the rebels. They were far enough off to where laser fire wouldn't be a concern, but only barely. Every second they wasted the rebels got closer. Lisa forced herself ahead, Ron was latching onto her like a lifeline, Harris was scouting ahead of them (Or so he said). The end goal of this was finding some form of exit they could use to escape their pursuers, even if it was only temporary.

Luck is a strange thing, and it was on their side today. An obscure, rusted iron door just barely ajar, just enough to be open. H

"Through here!" Harris called, opening the steel door. Lisa and the wounded soldier ducked inside, Harris followed in shortly after. Their desperate gambit worked: The troops outside stampeded past the hatch and ignored it. They were safe for the time being. "Phew..." Someone said, nobody knew who.

Harris broke into a subtle chuckle "Holy ever-living shit we're alive!"

The other two exchanged nods. He was right!

"We are!" Lisa cried out, setting Ronald down and standing up herself. They were ecstatic, they survived a rebel battalion closing in on them.

Ronald Dover, the injured soldier from Horizon City, smiled but did not laugh.