Rebel
Chapter 1
I clicked on the radio and tuned in to my favorite station. "We're live from New York as we see the elite pilots do tricks." I smiled, bunched up some papers, and stapled them. "We can see this rookie take on the double back flip in a state of the art fighter." I picked up some papers, and tapped them on the table to straighten them. I had been trained to do it in such an orderly fashion not even a computer could match my efficiency. "There he goes! He is going up, up, and beginning the decent! He's looking good! There's one!" I put the papers under the stapler. "There's two – oh my gosh! He's been shot down!" I slammed the stapler down, and yelped in shock. "Oh my, oh my, we have multiple unidentified aircraft. Everyone! Please evacuate the area!" I ground my teeth in pain as I removed the staple from my finger. "I've never seen anything like this before! This is not another War of the Worlds announcement! This is real! I can see strange tripods with unearthly weaponry. One is looking at me! I see blue dot--" There was a massive explosion that sent me out of the chair, and onto the floor. The lights flickered, and I could hear numerous worried voices.
*****
"The Harrison is sleeping on the job again," someone with a heavy Vortigaunt accent said. I mumbled something in a sleepy response. "It is unwise to anger the Magnusson."
I opened my eyes. "Whah, who?"
"Dr. Magnusson. He has been expecting the engine checks."
I peeled my face off the cold metal floor. "What? Oh, the engine checks. I got them right here." The papers were crumpled and dirty. "How long have I been out, Uriah?" I asked as I rubbed the imprint left on my face.
"The Harrison has been asleep for 45 Earth minutes," the Vortigaunt replied in a droning tone.
Dang. Third time this week I fell asleep while carrying out standard check-ups.
"Tell Dr. Magnusson I'll be right there," I said as I unwrinkled the data sheet.
"I shall do as the Harrison asks."
"Yeah, well, I gotta go!" I shouted as I stumbled down the catwalk.
Now I've done it. Well, easy come, easy go. I'll probably be assigned to crow duty in the sensors. Rather fall asleep on grass anyway.
*****
"Dr. Harrison, do you know what our motto is?"
I looked up at Dr. Magnusson. "Uh, work hard, eat right, kill combine, and sleep at night?"
His smile quickly turned to a frown. "That was our old motto, but thanks to you, we have a new one. Do your duty or you're on crow duty!"
He leaned down close to my face until his nose was almost touching mine. "You're on crow duty," he shouted with his face turning bright red. "Listen; you get to work outside every day, and I don't have to be near you! We both win, except you."
I put my hands on the arms of the chair, and got up. "Well, here are the checks. I'll be off!" I turned around on the balls of my feet and strode off.
"These checks aren't complete!" I heard from behind.
"Not my job anymore!" I shouted back.
*****
The heavy blast door slowly opened in front of me, but I couldn't wait. I slid underneath it, and slowly filled my lungs with the fresh air. Suddenly, red lights started flashing, and a siren blasted in my ear. I exhaled, and ran towards the nearest sensor.
No more engine oil fumes, no more smoke, no more Magnusson, no more notes, no more—
Thwack! I ran straight into a tree. I lay on the ground dazed, and looked up as a rather large bird flew over my head.
Pretty bird. Big bird. Loud bird. Wait.
I slowly started to hear again, and the first thing that greeted me was a loud engine sound.
Oh no.
I turned around and saw the same 'bird' dropping combine soldiers at our front door.
*****
I rubbed my swollen head, and crept around the combine drop ship. When I got to the back door, I tugged at the handle. It wouldn't budge.
What a day, I thought as I banged on the door.
"Hello? Little help here!"
"I can assist," a Vortigaunt said on the other side. I heard him fiddling with a lock on the other side.
Hmm. I guess it would be hard to do much with only two fingers.
The door opened, and I slid inside.
Suddenly, the walls next to me were peppered with bullet holes. I spun around, and saw a combine soldier pointing an AR2 at me.
I wish I was authorized to use one of those.
As I fumbled around with my machine gun, Uriah slipped off his lab coat. He put is 'hands' behind him, muttered something in Vortigaunt language, and blasted the combine soldier with soldiers entered, and opened fire. Uriah summoned more vortal energy, and directed it at the ceiling.
A collection of rocks fell on the combine, and a cloud of dust filled the room. I slowly walked over to the debris, and picked up a weapon.
A standard issue combine pulse rifle. I never thought the day would come.
I stroked the smooth metal, and inspected every inch of it.
Full ammo, no dents, prime condition, and never used.
I hoisted it up on my shoulder and turned to Uriah, who was putting his lab coat on as if nothing ever happened. "Let's go."
We ran down the corridors lit by the red warning lights. I wasn't used to carrying a rifle this heavy, and twice I almost dropped it.
We rounded a corner to face a large battalion of soldiers coming at us.
"Take this!" I shouted, and pressed what I thought was the trigger.
I heard a charging sound, and an orb of energy shot out of my weapon. I was knocked down by the sheer force.
The energy ball collided with one of the troops and bounced around, turning them all black and fizzy. Then, they vanished.
"The Harrison should take greater care next time."
"But I got 'em!" I shouted back at Uriah.
We advanced through the base and to the front door. The battle wasn't going good. I had never used the rifle before, but I opened fire on the combine to support the overwhelmed rebels. The AR2 had deadly accuracy, but it was canceled out by lack of experience.
I think this is the trigger.
I pulled it, and a trio of bullets shot out of my new toy. They struck an unlucky combine hiding behind a rock. I fired at another soldier, but I had worse aim than a drunken crow hunter with an RPG. Then, a grenade was thrown at me from an unknown location.
Aw crud.
I was too scared to pick it up, so I stumbled backwards. The combine soldiers followed me, but weren't that bright, and were blown to pieces by the grenade. The explosion sent a cloud of smoke into the air. I fired into the dust.
"Ha! How about a taste of your own medicine," I shouted. "You like dat! You like dat! You--"
Suddenly, a tripod mounted entity emerged from the cloud.
What the barnacle?
It emitted a strange sound, (almost stranger than Uriah's battle cry,) and shot a volley of flechettes out of it. They struck the wall next to me.
"Ha! You missed!" Then I heard a shrill charging sound as the devices detonated, sending me flying. I struck the opposite wall, with a sharp pain in my leg.
I gotta get me one of those.