YEAR 2030 - REBEL BASE - WILTSHIRE
The memorial held for Tank and the three others who had lost their lives during the ambush at Porton Down had been a much more vibrant and happy affair than Jake had anticipated. Having seen the camp in a grave state of mourning in the days leading up to it, he had expected the situation to get much worse. Instead, the event had been marked by a series of inspirational and rather humorous anecdotes about the four young men that had united the group once more. A banquet had been prepared fit for a King and the celebration of the lives of Tank and the others, rather than a mourning of their deaths, had carried into the evening amidst much merriment.
Jake had tried to use the ceremony and unity vibe to try and patch things up with Max. It had not gone quite as he hoped and it was clear that Max was still holding a grudge. The two of them had spent just a brief moment together at the close of the ceremony with Max allowing Jake a chance to give him a brief stroke before grunting and whining and then running back to be with Rosie. Jake was desperate to talk to him and to make amends but their telepathic connection had been severed, perhaps permanently.
'Hello, Jake'. Lexi's voice jolted him from his brief encounter with Max.
'Hey, how are you feeling?' Jake enquired taking in her much-changed appearance.
Lexi was dressed in a pale white dress that exposed her arms and legs. She had always dressed in much darker and more masculine clothes like she was always ready to go into battle. Yet here she was looking, well, like a young woman.
'I feel absolutely great' she said enthusiastically, 'never better'.
Her reaction had not quite been what he was expecting given the occasion and how she had been acting over the past few days, but then he guessed that she was perhaps overcompensating. In truth, her slightly odd behaviour was the last thing on his mind as his eyes dined on the feast of all the flesh that she had exposed. He had never seen her looking like this, she looked absolutely stunning and no matter how hard he tried to act normal he just could not stop looking at her.
'The ceremony was so beautiful don't you think?' Lexi said not reacting to his lack of subtlety.
Jake nodded, not really hearing her words.
'Such a tragedy what happened. Just horrible' she continued the enthusiasm not leaving her tone. 'Perhaps we should go and get a drink. I had a couple of glasses of wine earlier and it was just delightful'.
This revelation perhaps explained her slightly odd demeanour. Perhaps she was a little inebriated Jake reasoned.
She took him by the hand and whisked him off to get some wine. He had formed the opinion that she was clearly not in the state of mind to be left alone and could be a danger to herself, but secretly he hoped they could rekindle some of the passion from the night on the mound. No sooner has the thought crossed his mind, Lexi snatched a couple of bottles from the outside table and swept him away towards the bottom of the grounds. His chances of getting his wish seemed to be increasing.
A meeting was underway in the upstairs hideaway of the mansion, where Isaac had gathered the men from his camp with the leaders from the other sites. Phoenix was the only representative of the fairer sex present. There was a fervent debate underway on how the rebels should respond to the tragic events at the military research facility. There was clearly a lot of pent-up anger and frustration among the group given their own tragic experiences in battling the Empire.
'Gentleman' called Isaac, bringing the room to order. 'May I first thank you all for hearing my call for help and extend my humble gratitude for the kindness and respect you have extended to my people today' he continued raising his glass to the gathering. 'To freedom'.
The gathered group followed his lead raising their glasses and calling out in unison 'to freedom' before guzzling the contents and increasing their intoxication.
'We have not always seen eye-to-eye and over the years, and wounded one another gravely in the past, but the past few years we have been able to put our differences aside and unite against a common enemy. Today I ask you to go back to your people and networks and to urge them to get ready' said Isaac. 'The time for the revolution, the time for freedom of our people and all those who are imprisoned, to unite and to rise up is upon us' he declared, clearly feeling the effects of the celebration.
A small cheer met his opening, with some choosing to reiterate the initial toast, and drinking to it. A raucous revelry having replaced the sombre undertones of the day.
'We have all felt the pain of loss at the hands of the Empire, loved ones murdered and families devastated. It is time to take a stand whilst they least expect it, for I fear my friends, that should we not act now, it may be too late' continued Isaac.
'And what if you are wrong, Isaac' came a stern voice from the back of the room.
The amassed crowd now parted revealing the figure of the dissenter. A short, stocky man with a full beard and long brown hair, now stood up from his chair. He had two other men, one very lean and muscular with an expressionless facade and another with shorter hair and a neat greying beard that made him appear wolf-like.
'I'm not wrong, Merrick' replied Isaac to the stocky man. 'The Empire will not continue to let us exist as we have done'.
'What makes you so sure? Isaac, I get the pain you must be feeling, I like many around you have lost a loved one. I watched my children get taken into those brainwashing prisons and I watched as two of my boys were executed because they were too smart for their own good and tried to stand up for old values' Merrick said passionately. 'I only have Tamas left now' he continued, signalling to the younger and more athletic figure beside him.
'And what about your daughters' challenged Isaac trying to establish himself as the alpha once more.
The mention of Merrick’s missing daughters dampened the challenge from the rival rebel leader.
'Vicky and I mourned them a long time ago. Even if they are alive, the Empire has corrupted them' he said his voice breaking momentarily.
'Then why are you here' snapped Sam. 'Why come here if you are not ready to stand with us and fight?'
Tension began to emanate throughout the room with mutterings of discontent slowly starting to resurface. Any rebellion against the Empire would need to be coordinated and cohesive if it had any chance of success. It was clear that old wounds whilst healed were not entirely forgotten.
'I came to honour the death of an old friend's child and to encourage him to not act in haste' replied Merrick. 'There was a time when we in this room were enemies, turned upon each other by the lies of the Empire. We saw good sense to agree to peace and to find a way to make a life for ourselves outside of the mentality of the asylums. Relative peace has meant less bloodshed and less of our young having to see the brutality that too many of us have seen far too much of. I do not wish to return to those days'.
His measured and insightful words seemed to carry a heavy reality across the room, none of those present had survived to this point without having lost and sacrificed a great deal. The cautious tone Merrick had now infused into the once raucous atmosphere now seemed to have a slightly sobering effect. Isaac could sense the initial enthusiasm of the collective was beginning to wane.
'Merrick, my old friend, you are like a brother to me. Whether you want it or not, the war is coming and we have proof. The question you have to ask yourself is, do you want to stand up to it and face it head on, or do you want to turn your back on it, burying your head in the sand in the hope that it will pass you by? For if you really believe the latter, you and those who choose to follow you, will end up with a knife embedded in your backs' said Isaac, his eyes stern and serious.
Merrick sat back down in his chair, his eyes never left Isaac's. He began to rub his round belly and stroked his long beard allowing his compatriot the space to advance his point. Isaac focussed his deep brown eyes on his old foe and friend and began to make an impassioned plea that all around them could hear.
'We once shared a dream of freedom for our children, a world better than any we had ever lived in. A vision filled with hope and freedom, not for just us, here on the outside, but for everyone' continued Isaac. 'That is the vision we all here wanted for ourselves and for our children and grandchildren to come. My boy gave his life for that dream and there's no way and nothing that will stop me from achieving it'.
Cheers and further murmurs in support of Isaac’s statement filtered through the crowd like a wave and soon most if not all in attendance were nodding or making grunts of agreement with what was being said. Merrick seemed resigned to the general consensus that swept across the room. He acknowledged, albeit with some reluctance, that he was on board in principle with a brief nod of his head. The wolf-like man beside him now stood. His name was Marcus, but given his appearance had been known by his nickname 'Wolfy'.
'I imagine many here will be with you brother and may need some of that proof that you have mentioned. Me and mine are at your disposal, proof or not' he said gruffly. 'We have all waited too long for this day, fighting over scraps and making do. Never in my life have had to bend over and take it up the arse quite as much as a heterosexual beast of a man should. I'm tired of being screwed over and this wolf is thirsty for blood' he said with a roaring hurrah, that was met with a cheer. 'Fuck the Empire. Fuck Van Duyn the mental loon. And fuck being gang banged by those motherfuckers!'
Wolfy's coarse language struck a chord in the room and laughter swept the tension away.
'When this is all over Wolfy my friend, we will ensure you rise to the role of Director of Communications' said Isaac with a wry smile.
Isaac then invited Phoenix to take over proceedings and she played a montage of all of the atrocities that had been carried out by the Empire over the years. Images of brutal executions and the associated lies that had been fed to inhabitants of the compounds had been captured in a rebel counter-propaganda video that they intended to run on a loop after the compounds were breached. Phoenix also explained how once the mainframe of the UCCA headquarters had been disabled they could capture the scenes live and begin to broadcast across all of what was unfolding to the compounds across the globe. If they could show that the tyranny of the Empire could be extinguished in London and across Europa, then there was no reason why this could not sweep beyond the northern territory to the others, especially if all of the clans were able to transmit the message across their networks.
'London will be the first domino' explained Phoenix, 'we knock that one down and the others will fall one after the other'.
Once again the raucous enthusiasm had begun to simmer, with a number of mini-debates breaking out among the gathering. It was clear that many had reservations about the approach and the likely consequence of such a risk strategy that assumed a lot of the captives beyond the walls of fortified cities.
'Not all of the compounds have the same level of security or control as London's' continued Isaac sensing the scale of what was being proposed was starting to kill the enthusiasm that had been achieved to this point. 'Do not underestimate the latent anger that resides in the dream walkers, with them and us and the control over the Empire's communications we will prevail'.
Isaac’s words had not convinced everyone and the murmurs of discontent continued to filter across the gathering. The rotund leader, Merrick now spoke up to quell the rising tide of uncertainty that was taking hold.
'We will spread the message’ he said with authority realising the importance of the role that had been bestowed upon him to lead. ‘I assume what you have shown us today can be used to rally our absent friends and their networks?'
The rest of the gathering now focussed on the silent interplay taking place between the two alpha leaders in the pack. Isaac switched his gaze to his bespectacled assistant to respond.
'Absolutely, I will send the links through' assured Phoenix a little unnerved by the situation given that everyone was now silent and scrutinising every gesture and word being spoken. 'We need everyone to just be ready and when we have access to the mainframe that's when we attack'.
She gave a sweet smile that seemed to have little impact on the stern expressions in front of her and resorted to diverting her gaze to the ground as she began to chew on her ponytail anxiously.
'That's the only part of the plan I don't fully understand' said Merrick breaking the tension. 'How exactly do we get access?'
'The mainframe is operated with a security fail-safe. You need three separate seven-digit passcodes known only to the highest ranking officials within the Empire's structure' explained Isaac. 'Phoe has managed to crack one of the codes thanks her ingenious invention out back and is close to cracking the second one'.
Merrick and Isaac now looked to her to confirm that this was the case. She darted a brief glance to them both, dropping the ponytail from her mouth and giving a nervous nod.
'We have five of the seven characters' she said in reference to the download of Numen's code. 'The truth is it has taken a considerably longer time than anticipated. I've never seen someone's head contain that much information. It's like we are trying to download thousands upon thousands of people's stored memory, not just one man's'.
It was a sight to behold, with the young woman in one instance exuding so much confidence in her abilities and then to fall into such an anxious state once her message had been delivered. Phoenix was not the fondest of large crowds, she worked best with machinery that did not answer back. Her gaze had fallen back to the floor and her ponytail was right back in her mouth as well.
'It's coming, though, slowly but surely' assured Isaac.
Merrick interrogated Isaac’s face with a stern look before nodding in acceptance of what his old friend was saying. 'And the third part of the code, I assume the young fugitive you have been talking about this past few days has something to do with that?' he asked.
Isaac nodded but began to explain for all those present. ‘That will be my responsibility along with Jake' explained Isaac. 'We have someone on the inside who we can trust. He has the final code and the physical access to the mainframe. Jake and he have a long and dependable history. That will be the key to getting us in'.
'So this inside contact is on board with all of this, right?' Wolfy interjected. 'Otherwise, we're all totally shafted and lambs to the slaughter'.
Isaac did not want to explain that technically Frank had no idea of what they were planning. It could lead to the whole thing unravelling. He hoped that Jake could convince his adopted uncle to help them, even though it would put him at great risk. Isaac was placing a lot of faith in both of them right now, the success of the rebellion depended entirely upon it.
'The boy will deliver what we need' said Isaac trying to convince himself as much as the others around him.
‘I have heard you banging on about this boy’ said Wolfy looking around the room. 'Where the hell is he?'
Now everyone else was looking for Jake with those who knew him thinking the same thing: where was Jake and why was he not here?
Oblivious to the events taking place within the confines of the mansion, Jake and Lexi were back on the mound in the front of the grounds looking up at the sky. The two empty bottles of wine were absently discarded behind them. Lexi was much worse for wear than Jake, having consumed the lion's share of the haul. They had spent most of the time talking about nothing in particular, with Lexi leading conversations on themes such as the weather and why trees were beautiful. It had not really been the hotbed of intellectual debate and she was really not entirely herself, which was probably to be expected. Jake sensed she was trying to avoid any deep discussions in any way she could which explained her odd behaviour, drunken state and desire to keep topics of conversation on meaningless topics.
'Are you sure you are okay?' Jake asked, getting rather bored by the childish talk.
Lexi rolled on to her front and jumped on top of him catching him totally off guard.
'How many times do I have to tell you? I'm fine Jakey boy' she said slurring her words in this intoxicated state.
'You really don't seem fine to me' he said awkwardly.
'Let me show you just how fine I am' she said, before kissing him firmly.
The kiss he now found himself engaged in lacked the passion and intensity from the first one they shared. The electric sparks he had experienced the first time had been replaced with a surge of anxiety that was growing in the pit of his stomach. Lexi was totally out of control and her unpredictability was making him increasingly uncomfortable.
'Wait' he said breaking away for a moment. 'This just doesn't feel right' he confessed.
'Feels just right to me' she smirked, cupping his groin in her hand. 'Relax would you' she said before kissing him again.
He kissed her back and whilst he had to admit he was not entirely hating what was happening, he sensed that things were getting a bit too hot and heavy. Lexi was ravenous for his attention, biting his lower lip and pressing herself upon him firmly, her ripe breasts imprinting themselves upon his chest. She stopped kissing his mouth and smiled at him briefly before kissing his neck and nibbling at his ears. Lexi took his hand, clutching it to her firm breast, her nipple alert and aroused.
Jake did not resist her domination of him and followed her lead, his heart racing. If she could have read his mind at that point, she would have seen a tug of war taking place between a devil and angel of him. The devil urging him to go for it and the angel warning him not to take advantage of her in this state. It seemed, for now, the devil version of Jake was getting the upper hand.
Lexi stopped kissing his neck and was now sat upright astride him. She took his index finger in her mouth, first sucking it gently and then applying a small amount of pressure with her teeth. She then pulled both his hands to her chest her pert nipples showing visible arousal through her pale dress. She ushered him to squeeze them gently as the giggly girl of the earlier points of the evening gave way to a tumultuous temptress intent on sating her deepest desires.
Jake could feel her heart rate increasing with every caress and they began to kiss again. She maintained the position of dominance and began to gently grind her pelvis on top of his stirring his loins. It was hot and Jake was finding it hard to breathe easily. Lexi now ripped open his shirt, the buttons popping off and revealing his athletic frame. She began to kiss his neck again and began to sweep her lips south to his chest and began to nibble on his left nipple, before running her kisses down his tight stomach to his belly button. She then began to kiss her way back up his naked, exposed torso, hungrily kissing his lips and caressing his tongue with hers.
The taste of alcohol on her breath brought Jake out of the trance he had become enveloped in. Whilst this felt utterly fantastic and his body seemed more than willing, his conscience kept gnawing at him telling him to stop. Lexi continued to kiss and grope him, undoing the buckle to his belt and running her hand across the bulge that had welled there.
He thought that now might be the best time to stop proceedings, take a breath and consider whether this was the right time for them to do this. He urged his mouth to utter the words, but this state of arousal held the words at bay.
They continued to kiss, her hands running through his hair, tugging him gently towards her before pulling his head into her bosoms. She let out a few pleasurable groans before pinning him down flat on the ground, kissing him firmly on the mouth. Then she sat up astride him again, gently swinging her hips to ensure she maintained his attention. Their eyes locked upon one another and she took hold of her dress and lifted it over her head, returning a cheeky, seductive smile, now entirely naked and straddled across him.
Jake's body reacted far quicker than his mind, with blood rushing south. Lexi was crouched over him, totally exposed to him, her milky pale but perfect skin shimmering under the stars and moonlight above. Her pink nipples were firm and stood to attention upon her round, ample breasts. Her emerald green eyes twinkled invitingly and she bit her lip, leaning back slightly to ensure he could see her in all her naked glory.
'Like what you see?' Lexi whispered taking his hand and running it across her firm midriff and up to her exposed breast.
What came from Jake's mouth bore little resemblance to a language spoken on Earth. He could barely speak, the sight before him far more arousing than any he had pictured in his wildest dreams. It began to dawn on him that he was probably going to be having sex for the first time tonight, well with someone other than himself at least. He wondered if all the practice he had gotten up to now was going to pay off. This was all he had ever hoped for and more and whilst it felt entirely right, the angel in his head started to prevail in the tug of war stakes.
'Look, Lexi, I'm not sure this is such a good idea' he blurted to very apparent disappointment. 'It's just I don't want to take advantage of you what with everything that has happened'.
The seductive and sexy look on her face had been overwhelmed by one of anger and humiliation. 'Don't be so gay Jake' she snapped, 'it's just sex for god sake'.
While Jake was no expert on these matters, the site of her clambering off of him and hurriedly replacing the discarded dress was not the best sign of things having gone swimmingly.
'Look I was just thinking of you and it just didn't feel like the right time, that's all' he protested trying to cover himself up.
She had managed to replace her dress as quickly as she had taken it off, her face full of thunder, staring down at him. 'A word to the wise, when the guy has a raging erection and the girl is butt naked and gagging for it, that Jake you stupid twat, is generally accepted as the "right time"' she snapped having repeated his words back to him using the inverted commas signal.
She now stormed off back towards the house cursing and swearing under her breath clearly frustrated and humiliated by the ordeal. He would have chased after her but the fear of getting his head caved in made him pause, that and the fact that his apparent excitement had not yet abated.
What a monumental and monstrous disaster that was, he thought, before finally getting to his feet and skulking off back towards the house. This was one of those times where having a confidante, the infinite pearls of wisdom from the experience of mum or dad, or a sibling well-versed in this kind of thing would have been useful. Jake had none of the above and on this occasion, Max, would not be an appropriate substitute.
By the time he had arrived back at the mansion, Jake had managed to shut the horrific ending of the ordeal to the back of his mind arriving just in time for what appeared to be a mass exodus from the base. The leaders of the other clans were now saying their last goodbyes and packing up the people carriers.
'We will alert the others and send them the evidence you have gathered' said Merrick embracing Isaac, 'we will wait for your signal to launch'.
'I assure you, if we don't take action then they will' urged Isaac. 'The time to act is now'.
It was clear from his expression that Merrick was still not convinced by the threat. 'I hope you are right brother because once we set out on this path, days like today will become the norm for us all. Win or lose, there will be many lives lost' he warned.
'I know what is at stake' Isaac whispered. 'I'll be in touch soon'.
They embraced a final time and shook each other by the hand firmly, sealing the pact. The truth was that they may never see one another again once the attack was launched. Merrick then pulled Isaac close keen for his words to kept private.
'If you see my daughters before I do, or if anything should happen to me' Merrick whispered. 'Tell them I love them and I'm sorry that it took so long to set them free. Good Luck'.
He then peeled away, never once looking back, before disappearing into one of the vehicles at the front of the convoy. Within a few moments the men were on their way to spread the word of the coming revolution, soon it would go viral, sweeping like wildfire across the territories. Now all that was required was the initial spark to set it alight.
As the guests departed down the long dirt track of the rebel base, Isaac now came alongside Jake.
'Phoenix has got one of the passcodes and the other one is just one digit away from being deciphered' said Isaac in a business-like tone. 'You and I need to go and convince Frank to give us the final part of the code and help get this thing started' he said.
Jake’s thoughts of events of the evening were now entirely drowned by Isaac’s request, which in truth had come across as more of a demand. Jake, however badly he had handled the last incident of the evening was not about to repeat the mistake now when his fearless leader was stood before him.
'I'll get in touch and set up a meeting' replied Jake. 'What if he can't give us what we need?'
Then I guess we will have to find some way to persuade him’ he said with a look suggesting non-conventional means. “Or more accurately you will' said Isaac defiantly before heading inside.
Isaac's statement gave Jake new grounds to feel nervous. He was certain they could convince Frank to help them, but if he refused then what? Did he really think that Jake would use mind control on the only person who had been a stalwart for him since childhood? Isaac might think he knew the extent of Jake's abilities, but he did not know that they had disappeared without a trace since Porton Down. The internal dialogue with himself was interrupted by the revelation that he had buttoned his shirt incorrectly, which Jake then wondered if Isaac had noticed. The humiliation and embarrassment that filled his head, drowning out the next steps of the plan. This was turning out to be a very bad day indeed.