Star Rebellion (3 page)

She chuckled for no apparent reason. “Well I guess I’ll be seeing you around; I’ve been meaning to get these papers to the Commander.” She waved a stack of papers maybe as thick as my ‘80s headphones.

“Isn’t that a bit much for just a report?” I questioned without thinking. Of course here we think before talking, and normally would never say anything like that. “Pardon me, my manners slipped. I’ll probably see you around later,” I said smoothly, turning into the normal formal attitude the NOPCW people generally have. I nodded my head and continued down the hall; I could still feel her eyes on me though.

WATERSTAR

I lifted my head when the door to my dark blue Honda opened. My hand slipped into the door pocket and rested on the hilt of a knife until I heard Darkstar say, “Reading on the job again are we now?”

“Darkstar! Get in already! You’re almost twenty minutes late. Arctic has called in four times making sure nothing happened. You know how agitated he can get. What were you doing? Wait don’t answer that, we don’t have time! What were you thi-”

“Take a breath and drive already! Wait, why are you here? I thought Firestar was coming?”

“He. Got. In. Trouble. ‘Cause. Of. YOU!
REMEMBER?”

Darkstar just looked down, ashamed. Of course he remembered. It only happened a month ago, but what’s done is done and it can’t be changed.

I slowly pulled out of the NOPCW garage. These people were so boring. Dark colored cars, slow driving, and no weird hair. The hair part was why Darkstar was the spy. Fire and I (and all the rest of Star Rebellion for that matter) had a color according to our name somewhere in our hair. Dark’s wasn’t so noticeable because the tips of his hair were a shade darker than his black hair. I had dark blue stripes against blond hair.

Once we had gotten halfway to Star Rebellion’s private headquarters, I pressed the gas. If something doesn’t involve danger, I leave. That’s why Firestar normally drives; I’m just too noticeable. Oh well.

“Yo! Slow down! You’re gunna get us killed!” Darkstar shouted, bringing me back to the present.

“That’s the point, DANGER RULES!” I shouted right back. I glanced at him and saw that Dark was clenching his seat. I looked back out the window and saw the cliff coming back up. I mentally flipped between speeding up and slowing down. I decided to take it safe, seeing as Darkstar looked like he was going to have a panic attack.

It only took a few more minutes to get to HQ, especially with my recklessness. From what Foreststar had said, the Earth police would probably hate me. At the HQ, I was actually quite relieved to be away from Darkstar. He’s such a gloomy gus all the time. I had walked with him all the way to Arctic’s conference room and he had done nothing but complain about some new training the NOPCW was going through. He had to participate in it to keep his cover from being blown. I was about to leave him to face the wrath of Arctic right when I heard someone say, “Waterstar, you’re also staying.” I turned around to glare at the silver haired commander, but nonetheless I walked into his conference room and slumped into the seat next to Dark. This should be pleasant.

Arctic started the meeting. “Why were you late?” He pierced Dark with his grey eyes.

“Someone almost discovered me again, and then I bumped into the ambassador who just so happened to be carrying a report to her Commander. I was able to sneak this from the stack.” He slid a sheet of paper across the table. I could just make out ‘Mystic Animal Transportation: Underworld’. It’s what we’ve been looking for. Finally, two years later we had it. I almost hugged Darkstar right there and then.

Chapter 2: I Spy You

WATERSTAR

Once again, I was skipping down the dimmed halls of Star Rebellion. It was way past curfew, which I was grateful for. I didn’t feel like getting plagued by questions about how the mission had gone. Arctic had informed us of the plan to be put in effect tomorrow. Only Dark, Fire, and I could know. Speaking of Firestar, he was wide awake when I flung open the door to the room we all shared.

“What’d I miss? I
know
something happened!”

We all have some type of power; Firestar knows the main details of what happens. He gets these feelings and can see images I guess. It’s hard me to explain since I have never experienced it.

“We got the info,” Dark whispered the plan Arctic had told us, which I thought was completely pointless. It was the middle of the night, who the hell would be eavesdropping? I was silent for once as I watched Fire’s expression turn from surprise to excitement. I soon got bored with that though and started pacing around to release energy before bedtime. I had the ability to manipulate energy. A lot of it coursed through my body every day, so before I go to bed I had to try and release it else I wouldn’t be asleep until sunrise. It’s like insomnia on extreme.

“Water, will you please go to bed already? We need to be awake for tomorrow,” I vaguely heard Dark say.

I glanced up and saw that both of them were in their beds, Fire with his red blanket covering his head. I was tempted to say no just to annoy Darkstar, but it was pretty vital for us all to have slept well before tomorrow.

FIRESTAR

Light streaming through a window made me squint my eyes in protest. I was not ready to wake up. “Ugh, who the hell turned on the sun?” I shouted to no one in particular.

I stretched and sat up to find Water and Dark already up and functioning.

“So, Sleeping Beauty is awake?” Water said, her hand was on her hip and was on full sass already. So it was going to be one of those days.

“Yo, Calsh to Firestar!” Dark said. “Are you sure you’re awake?”

“Uhn? Yea, or at least awake enough. Should we start?” I asked while brushing my dark red hair out of my face. I normally kept it tied at the back of my neck, but no way in hell was I going to sleep like that. Only girls did that.

“Aww!” Water invaded the conversation. “I wanted to have breakfast first!”

I rolled my eyes and Dark laughed. I rolled, and I literally mean rolled, out of bed and picked up a shirt from off the ground, pulling it over my head as we walked out of the door. It didn't smell too bad when I took a sniff. We headed down to the mess hall, but due to my late wake-up call, most of the Rebellion was already down there with half-emptied plates.

“Great! All the good food will be gone. Look at what you did Fire!” Waterstar started rambling. I tuned her out once we had gotten in line though, a normal habit of mine. I love Waterstar to death, but she could talk forever.

She was right, though. No pie, cake, waffles, or even cinnamon rolls were left. Not even my personal favorite bacon-and-nutella burrito. We all had to fill our plates with egg, sausage, and other boring stuff like that.

“You shouldn’t be complaining,” Darkstar finally reprimanded Water, who was still talking when we got to our table. “Most rebellions don’t eat as well as we do.”

Water just pouted, which meant she didn’t have a valid argument. I don’t know how we managed to procure such food, though many conspiracy theories went around the Rebellion about it. My guess was the most logical; the ambassadors and shipment team brought it from Earth. Some people had the idea that every morning, secret agents from the Rebellion snuck into the NOPCW and swiped their stuff, but Gravelstar would never allow that dishonor happen in his kitchen.

We sat at a table with three other rebels. I knew only Vinestar out of them, a woman in her late twenties. Her friends looked about the same age, which would explain why I didn't know them. We mostly stayed segregated by age, and the only reason I knew Vine was because she was the daughter of my fire master. We chatted aimlessly, Water doing most of the talking for us. Apparently Vine and her friends were part of the exploration team, mostly just going on scouting trips into the Barrens. Soon the bell rang, signaling it was time for everyone to go to work. I threw my paper plate into the recycling on the way out and my team and I headed to our room.

“Now you can start,” Dark said while hanging his sheet over the window.

I sat on my bed and closed my eyes to focus. Images immediately started passing through my mind, but I brushed them away. I focused on what our plan and goal was, then on how the NOPCW would interfere. New images flashed by, and this time I openly welcomed them.

I could only gather bits and pieces of the big picture. Until I could master my power, I can only see the main details, which sucked duck butt. I will admit, that by my ripe age of nineteen, most people had complete control over their basic power, which pretty much had an unlimited use. I, however, had side effects, and still couldn't control it fully. The researchers who studied the powers some Calshians received from mutation still had no clue why this was happening to me.

After what seemed like hours, the images finally stopped. I opened my eyes and felt extremely dizzy. A moan left my lips uncontrolled. I would have fallen over, and also possibly fainted, if Waterstar hadn’t caught me. She silently offered me some bread and tea.

“Thanks,” I rasped. My throat was raw and hurt like hell. She merely nodded and looked at me with concern. It wasn’t unusual for me to feel this way. The effect that using my ability had on me was different, but it was something I had learned to deal with. I liked to think it made me tougher than everyone else.

The tea soothed my throat and the bread helped with the dizziness, but only a little. “Water, this is going to be a tough mission. The toughest we’ve had by far. I saw death. A lot of it, and everything was tinged in darkness. Not like, night sky darkness, but evil.

“Firestar….” Her voice wavered. “Did…did you see one of us dying? Wait, don’t answer that. Don’t tell anyone if you did, it would be better that way.”

“I didn't see who,” I said as Dark walked in.

“Good, you’re finished. What happened?” He looked between Water and I, already judging the atmosphere.

Waterstar and I looked at him and his expression darkened to match ours. “That bad, huh?”

I stood up and started pacing. It was a habit Dark and I had picked up from Waterstar. “It’s going to be dangerous.” I explained what I had already said to Water, then continued onto the outline of what was going to happen. “After we infiltrate their base, the NOPCW will become aware of our presence. Dark, you will be the one who calms them down, so you need to be there as ‘Jacob’ before we start.

“Water, you will lead the invasion. With your energy control, you need to be in the front. I’ll be right behind you the entire time; Ice is wiring an ear piece for me and he’ll connect it to Dark’s headphones so there will always be communication. An earpiece will also be made for you.” It was likely we would get separated, even though she and I should remain together and meet up with Darkstar at a rendezvous spot, as was a generic plan. Somehow, things never went that way for us. I wonder why, definitely not because we are extremists.

“Arctic’s planning a route for us,” I continued. “He’s coordinating where we can stop so I can use my ‘sight’. Also, Dark, stay as close to any of the officials as you can; use your power to keep them calm.” Darkstar’s power was making someone, anyone, believe whatever he said, but he had to be within a ten foot radius of them, and it only lasted a few hours. Keeping the higher ups calm, which were people like the commander and ambassador, was going to be difficult to manage, but he would have to handle it. I didn't envy him of his position, definitely not one I would enjoy. I had a very particular opinion about authority.

Darkstar looked down worried. I know that my explanation may not have seemed the most serious, but in situations like this, the smallest disturbance could mean the end of it. “Hopefully we won’t have to resort to anything… else.” Water looked up with narrowed eyes. We both caught the underlying meaning of what Darkstar was referring to. Water was the only one of us who had used her special before being approved to do so, and after the adrenaline rush, she had been unconscious for days. Dark and I had already had our approval for over a year, but it wasn't until recently that Water gained the green light, and that was after the mess.

A depressing silence fell over us and I thought back to that time a month ago. Dark’s plan had messed up and I tried fixing it, but in the process Water had to use her special. Dark was unconscious and I wasn’t able to stop the fire that I had had contained a few minutes previously. A tsunami of water had flooded out from her hands and soon after that she accompanied Darkstar in dreamland.

Because I hadn’t been able to contain the fire, as I should have been able to, Water had to use a type of magic that was commonly referred to as a special here. I still couldn't figure out what had made me lose control of the fire. For over a year, I could make it obey my every will, but suddenly it just lept out of control and was spreading too fast through the village we had been investigating. Everything had been destroyed, and it had been all I could manage to keep the fire from consuming my friends and me, until Water intervened. No one else had been in the village, it was abandoned, but the fire kept us from being able to find out what had caused the villagers to leave, and obscured any clue that would lead us to where they had gone. That had been a month ago, and I was still being punished. Well, that was until this mission came up.

The door opened and Arctic stepped in. “Well aren’t you a cheery bunch?” Arctic’s power was being able to sense people’s feelings, along with manipulating them. “I’ve finished the maps Firestar,” he turned to me, some unknown expression hidden behind his frosty blue eyes. “I have found six places you can stop. Are you sure you can handle that many sights?”