Book II: Brinus Helios - From Criminal to Hero

The Emperor sat over his 6 a.m. breakfast. He was a stern, gray-haired man with long, lanky arms and legs at six feet tall. He had a severe expression as the latest reports from the terrorist attack arrived.

The morning after the mage battle was filled with grey clouds. Rain poured from the sky and washed the streets and buildings in dense sheets of rain. Five holovisions livestreamed the rescue efforts. There was an abundance of mud and muck mixed with the sand from the rubble of buildings. The Emperor glanced from his datapad for a moment. He saw an unconscious six-year-old kitten-person be pulled by paramedics from some rubble. Its fur was matted in blood.

His Majesty finally put down the datapad and looked his Chancellor in the eyes. "What is the plan for retribution?"

"Emperor Casnor. Supreme command wants to kill 3000 suspected rebels for the 3,000 lives taken from the city."

Emperor Casnor snorted through the nose and then said, "Have we learned nothing from the war? Do we know who the rebel leaders are besides Marci?"

"We have a list of 700 confirmed rebel cell leaders across 1800 planets. The members of the cells are not known to us, Your Majesty."

He took a bite of his toast and then rose from his seat. "Modify the plan. Dispatch the Strike Force and kill all 700 leaders. Do not target the families or people in the houses. Only kill the targets and only the targets. Those are your orders. Dismissed."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The chancellor bowed and left. The head Magi agent came into the breakfast room. Emperor Casnor nodded in her direction. "Your majesty. Dale the Whale got away. We think he's gone."

"Do the rebels have him, Carletta?"

She nodded.

He cussed and threw an innocent statuette against the mirrored paneling on the wall. "Damn! He would have been a powerful ally in the Federation War of Rebellion!"

Carletta tilted her head to the side. "Is that what we are calling this now?"

Emperor Casnor nodded. "Have the magi declare Dale the Whale a wanted fugitive and put a one million credit bounty on him? Increase the bounty on Marci to 100 million credits. Also, move Marci to number six on the Magi's most wanted list and Dale to number 10. Dismissed."

Carletta sighed and made some notes on her datapad. "Will you visit the victims in the hospital later?"

"No, because it will look like I am there for Brinus and not the people. When he is discharged, I will visit. I understand he will be out of the hospital tomorrow. Because he doesn't smoke anymore and has been smoke-free for about a year, he will heal faster than most patients. I have already checked in with his doctors."

Carletta nodded. "Very well. Do you need any more from me, Your Majesty?"

Emperor Casnor shook his head and waved his hand dismissively. Carletta left the room after bowing.

The emperor walked up to a replicator. "Red Gordian Wine, one degree Celsius."

A glass of red wine appeared, and he began drinking it. What a fucking mess, he thought. I hope killing the enemy leadership leaves them disoriented for a while. We will have to plan our next move after this. An attack like this can't happen again.

Emperor Casnor put the empty wine glass in the replicator, and it disappeared in a flurry of purple light. He then walked out of the room.

The next day, at 10 a.m., a rebel leader was in a rundown mechanic's shop underneath a self-driving car. He was in the remnants of the federation city of Sator on Sator Prime. Sator Prime was a manufacturing hub. It became an impoverished rust belt due to deindustrialization and extreme poverty. The rebel leader moved there after the war because of new opportunities.

Outside on the ruined curb, seven men in black army trooper armor were inside a white government van. The street was lined with construction work to make the town walkable, and was busy with activity. The strike team uploaded a program into the mechanic shop's central computer. In a matter of seconds and then the jack failed and felling on top of the rebel leader. It crushed him to death instantly. They could've sent just the one guy, but the whole strike team was always necessary. Not only was it a competent show of force, but also thorough, and made it a procedure to be serious about all threats.

Dale the Whale came running out of the parts inventory room in time to see the employees trying to lift the car jack.

"Let me!" Dale yelled as he pointed both hands at it.

He lifted it with magic, and it fell to the side.

The shop owner was dead.

"What happened?" asked one of the techs.

Dale looked outside the mechanic's shop and saw a white government van speed off.

We were hacked! Thought Dale as he slammed his hand against the wall.

A woman walked down a sidewalk in a suburban neighborhood with her pet dog. Two men in suits came up behind her. They rapidly approached as she listened to music on her headset. One of the two men took a cane and jammed it into her leg.

She screamed out after feeling a sharp pain like something had stuck her in her calf and snapped, "Watch it! asshole!"

The two men didn't even acknowledge it as they walked into a government van. She saw five other men in black army trooper armor inside.

Whatever! Not my issue. She felt weak and dizzy and then fell to the ground, seizing and foaming at the mouth. After a moment, she stopped breathing. The van sped off into the street.

Marci met with seven rebel leaders in a McMansion on an outer rim Federation colony world. She saw a white government van in the bushes and ran off into the woods. Seven Army Troopers in black armor emerged from the truck and headed down the driveway. The group's sergeant put a circular device on the lock. It made a whirring sound and quietly popped the gate open. The seven men moved with surgical precision as they lock-picked the front door.

Instantly, five rebels were killed as they shot them with semi-automatic blaster rifles. The leaders watched a Kobchi fight before they had a chance to comprehend. Two more people tried to run out of the game room but were gunned down before they could leave the hallway. A maid came from downstairs to see what the noise was about, but the strike team was gone. All she saw were seven dead bodies with blaster wounds. She ran out of the room screaming.

Stolen novel; please report.

Brinus was in bed with Simmie as their legs were intertwined, and Simmie had an arm over Brinus's chest.

Brinus stirred and then woke up screaming, "Enemy ships spotted! Red Alert! Battlestations!"

Simmie fell off the bed as Brinus grabbed his wand and shot a killing curse at the replicator. It was a jet of bright green light. The replicator exploded in a shower of sparks, and the wires screamed and popped. Simmie punched Brinus in the stomach and disarmed him by bending his hand back, a move Brinus taught him. He then hugged him tightly, forcing him onto the bed.

"It's okay, honey. It was just a dream." Simmie hugged Brinus so tightly he couldn't get up and get his wand. Brinus fell back to sleep after struggling for a moment. However, Simmie couldn't sleep now and knew he wouldn't be able to relax with Brinus in his bed.

He went into the kitchen and turned on the news. Immediately, a streamer discussed the assassination of rebel leaders.

Simmie turned up the hologram projector loud enough to fill the room. "So the current death toll is at 452 rebel leaders. We still don't have a list of rebels in the local area. How many do you think will be taken out, Hutch?"

Hutch laughed. "The strike force never fails. If they have a target, it will be neutralized."

Butch returned the laugh and then leaned into his mic. "Serves these assholes right. They killed or injured 3,000 people in downtown Saffron. No fucks are given to those fucking fuckers."

Butch pressed a button on his soundboard, which indicated a commercial break. "And now a word from our sponsors, and I will be smoking Orange Cream Tarken Tea Slicks from—"

Simmie turned off the news. Justice was served, so he turned his mind to more immediate issues. He wasn't sure if he wanted to repair the replicator, but whatever. Brinus could scrounge a few parts from engineering and do it himself, as he should.

Tangent came into the kitchen and began brewing coffee. "What was that noise about?"

"Brinus had a night terror. I bet he won't even remember tomorrow."

"Can you go back to sleep?"

Simmie shook his head. After Brinus destroyed the replicator, there would be no way he could relax. "I'm going to work early today. If I clock in early, they'll let me go home early."

Akmal came into the kitchen dressed in uniform. "Just got off of work. Is Brinus up? I wanna play games with him?"

Simmie rolled his eyes and then took a sip of his coffee. "Akmal. It's 3:30 in the morning. Brinus is starting summer orientation tomorrow. Play games without him."

"Then what are you two doing up?"

Tangent hopped onto the counter and snapped, "Brinus had a night terror. He needs to rest."

Akmal tilted his head. "What's a night terror?"

Simmie and Tangent looked at each other. Tangent spoke after a moment of silence. "It's like you're in a deep sleep. Out of nowhere, you feel a flash of intense fear. You're awake midway through a nightmare at the scariest point of the dream. You're not quite awake but not quite asleep either."

Akmal was silent for a moment and then stripped down into his gym shorts and went into the game room. I am so sorry for Brinus. Maybe I can cheer him up later?

Brinus donned his dress uniform at 5 a.m. he had a piece of caffeine gum in his mouth as he buttoned up his jacket. It didn't help the cravings, but it kept his mouth busy. They were especially bad today as he flicked a metal lighter with the metal on metal, clicking. He reached into his medicine cabinet and took his Ritalin. His chest and back were sore, but they didn't give him pain pills because of his history of addictive behavior. He groaned as he put on his medals. Bending over hurts! Thought Brinus.

After a little while, he left the quarters and noticed the lights were out. He sighed. Not again! He thought and conjured a fireball to illuminate. Seven people with blaster rifles stood at his next-door neighbor's door. One man picked the lock. The group dressed like a cleaning crew but stuck out like a sore thumb.

"Who the fuck are you?!"

One of them pointed their blaster at him. "Get lost."

"Who the fuck are you? And what do you want with my neighbor?"

"I said to get lost and mind your own business."

Brinus snapped his fingers, and the lights flashed on ten times brighter than normal. It blinded the strike team for a moment, causing them to scream out. They turned and shot him in the chest, but his body absorbed the shots. He rolled off to the side and threw several fireballs at them from his wand.

The strike force retreated, and a firefight began. The heated plasma from his wand wooshed by and exploded on the walls. The disrupter bolts hit Brinus in the chest but only pissed off Brinus worse. He screamed as he tried to kill the seven strangers. The fireballs from Brinus's wand contrasted with the green disruptor bolts.

There was a brief exchange of green blaster fire and magic at a four-way junction. Suddenly. ten security officers and a patrol sergeant surrounded the men.

"Put your weapons down! Liuteante Helios! We have mass driver ammunition for our weapons! Not blasters! So we will use deadly force if you do not comply."

The leader shot dirty looks at Brinus as they were put in a holding cell. "You idiot. Do you know what you've done?" shout the enemy.

Brinus looked at the team with slanted eyes, pursed lips, and crossed arms. "Prevented my neighbor from being a victim of a syndicate hit? You people are disgusting. I should've just incinerated y'all." Brinus spat at the team leader's feet. "I hope you syndicate bastards rot in prison."

The team leader laughed in Brinus's face. "Is that what you think? What do you think the Orin syndicate would be interested in him for?"

"Hell if I know! Maybe she didn't pay a loan! Maybe she owes money! I don't fucking care!"

The jailor came up and turned off the plasma bars. "You're all free to go. The DA told me to tell you, Sergeant Dan, that next time you need to identify yourself as a strike force team on a mission. You violated the ROE, and the only reason he isn't pressing charges is because Brinus has magic. Also, you will be getting a bill for the damages, Sergeant. You are responsible for this situation."

Brinus looked at Sergeant Dan, "Why is the strike force interested in my neighbor?"

"She's a rebel and you just let the rebellion keep a leader asshole."

Brinus flashed his screw-you smile. "That sounds like a you problem. You done fucked up my friend."

Brinus walked out of the brig. They handed him his medals and his wand. The booking sergeant smirked at him. Brinus flashed his screw you smile. He missed his first day of graduate school orientation, so he wanted to know why.

He walked back to his neighbor's quarters and then banged on her door, screaming for her to answer. She opened the door, and he forced his way in.

"Aren't you a big ball of emotions?"

Brinus shook with rage as he yelled, "Why the fuck is the strike force raiding your quarters at five in the morning?"

She sighed, looked down at her feet, and locked up. "I wondered who was picking my lock."

"They said you were a rebel leader!"

"First, stop shouting and sit down in the kitchen. I will bake some cookies for you while we talk. Second, I have nothing against you personally, despite being a duke and a member of the council. You aren't like the other nobles and are one of the best neighbors I've ever had.

Brinus sat in a chair in attention out of habit and training. "I'm waiting."

She pulled out her mixing bowl, butter, milk, eggs, and some flour. "I left the federation shortly before the war. I saw the writing on the wall and tried to warn my family. No one took me seriously. Before the war, I was an HR clerk. I processed harassment claims in the federation government. I had been preparing my exit for a while. I put in my two weeks' notice. I got my passport. I got my finances sorted. And then I left. Three weeks later, the Machiv Act was passed and all hell broke loose. I decided to renounce my federation membership and apply for refugee status. Then the war happened."

Brinus popped his caffeine gum and nodded.

She teared up and started crying. "I watched my family, my friends, everything I loved go to shit. Have you ever heard of Operation Divide and Conquer? The Confederacy was behind it all. The entire time, they fanned the flames with divisive politics. It led to the deaths of trillions. I hate the Confederate government for taking everything from me, and I want to return the favor."

The doorbell rang, and then a knock on the door. "Security! open up!"

The door opened with a universal code. Six security officers came into the room. "Mrs. Sabastian Truelove! You are under arrest for committing acts of sabotage and terrorist acts! This act is a violation of section 82 of the Criminal Code of Justice! You will be booked under crime 82. Anything you say will be taken down in writing and used in evidence against you. However, it may harm your defence if you do not mention, when questioned, something you later rely on in court. Do you understand?"

She spat in the officer's face as she was put in handcuffs. "My only regret is that I can only kill you all once."

The sergeant major of the security forces waved his hand. "Take her away."