Prometheus Wakes (The Great Insurrection Book 4) Read online

  Prometheus Wakes

  The Great Insurrection™ Book Four

  David Beers

  Michael Anderle

  This book is a work of fiction.

  All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Sometimes both.

  Copyright © 2021 LMBPN Publishing

  Cover Art by Jake @ J Caleb Design

  http://jcalebdesign.com / [email protected]

  Cover copyright © LMBPN Publishing

  A Michael Anderle Production

  LMBPN Publishing supports the right to free expression and the value of copyright. The purpose of copyright is to encourage writers and artists to produce the creative works that enrich our culture.

  The distribution of this book without permission is a theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like permission to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), please contact [email protected]. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.

  LMBPN Publishing

  PMB 196, 2540 South Maryland Pkwy

  Las Vegas, NV 89109

  Version 1.00, 2021

  eBook ISBN: 978-1-64971-608-8

  Print ISBN: 978-1-64971-609-5

  Contents

  The Written History of the Great Insurrection

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  The Written History of The Great Insurrection

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  The Written History of the Great Insurrection

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  The Written History of the Great Insurrection

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  The Written History of The Great Insurrection

  Author Notes - David Beers

  Author Notes - Michael Anderle

  Also by David Beers

  Books By Michael Anderle

  Connect with The Authors

  The Prometheus Wakes Team

  Thanks to our Beta Readers

  Kelly O’Donnell, John Ashmore, Rachel Beckford

  Thanks to our JIT Readers

  Dave Hicks

  Diane L. Smith

  Jackey Hankard-Brodie

  Angel LaVey

  Editor

  SkyHunter Editing Team

  Dedication

  For my brother, Danny.

  — David

  To Family, Friends and

  Those Who Love

  to Read.

  May We All Enjoy Grace

  to Live the Life We Are

  Called.

  — Michael

  The Written History of the Great Insurrection

  We found ourselves with a powerful group of soldiers, a leader who seemed to have no limits, and a mission that everyone was willing to die for.

  We had, through luck and courage, beaten back an imperial regime. They’d chased us to the edges of the universe and sent their best after us, and we had defeated them. Their dreadnoughts were returning to Earth, and while we knew they weren't done with us, we had time.

  Any outside observer would think we were in a good position.

  The truth was far different.

  We were closer to death than we had ever imagined. We just didn't know it.

  Chapter One

  The Myrmidon Ajax had known the AllMother would return to her people. She might leave for a time, but she could never leave forever. Ajax had decided to wait for her.

  While the AllMother and her Prophesied One rushed across the universe to save someone who was little more than an insect in the overall plan, Ajax went to the planet Phoenix.

  The fire that raged in their atmosphere did nothing to the Myrmidon ships. The flames might as well have not been there.

  The Terram were not a stupid people. When Ajax landed, they didn't offer any resistance. While they had remained out of the AllSeer's path for much of their history, they knew about the Myrmidons. They knew that neighboring planets bent the proverbial knee when Myrmidons arrived, so they did the same.

  There was no battle. No death. Just the knowledge that as long as they obeyed the Myrmidons’ wishes, things could go back to normal when they left.

  Ajax hadn’t asked for elaborate quarters, although he didn't think these small men had any. Indeed, the Myrmidons were entirely too large to walk through these rock-carved halls for long.

  Inside the tiny room Ajax had been given, he called on the AllSeer.

  "I am here, my lord," he said from his knees. His head was bowed, so he didn’t see the dark shadow standing next to the far wall. "Do you wish her people to live, or would you have me kill them?"

  The refugees who had fled Pluto remained on Phoenix, waiting for their supposed saviors to return. Ajax could run through them quickly, and when the AllMother returned, only death would greet her. Ajax had no preference in the matter.

  The shadow remained quiet for a few moments before saying, "You have done well, Ajax. Do not hurt her people. We have no quarrel with them. To kill them would only inspire hatred from my sister, and it would not help our cause. Regardless of what she thinks, our fate is not to destroy the universe but to help it reach its destiny."

  "Yes, my lord. It will be done." Ajax looked up at the shadow. "What about her Prophesied One?"

  "If he will bend the knee, we shall welcome him. Not as a Superior, but not as a slave, either. He will be under us, but above our slaves."

  "If he doesn't bend?" Ajax asked.

  "Kill him."

  Alexander de Finita sat on his throne, staring out into space. His Praetorian Guard stood at the edges of the circular room. For the first time in his life, Alexander was at a loss to understand what had happened.

  His two Primuses had deserted the Commonwealth. In the government's entire history, nothing like that had ever happened.

  From all reports, Hel vi Thraxus was dead. The Commonwealth spies said that rumor was Ares himself killed her before helping free the man he'd been sent to kill.

  Alexander had not yet talked to the Fathers. He had no desire to do so, yet sooner or later, he would have to go to that orb and hear his chastisement. Alexander was starting to think they might be right, and he was a fool for doubting them. Had he overestimated his strength? The Commonwealth's? It seemed almost impossible for Alistair Kane to do what he'd done, yet here they were.

  The comm on his throne’s armrest lit up with a small purple light. Alexander knew who was outside the room since he'd summoned the man. Perhaps he should have summoned him earlier. Alexander didn't know anymore. All he truly knew was that he'd been too lax in all areas of his rule. They should have ended this former Titan on Pluto, but his godsdamned Primus had been too cowardly to do what was needed when it was needed. She'd hesitated, and Kane had escaped.

  Alexander shook his head in disgust.

  He tapped the purple button. "Let him in."

  The massive double doors opened, and a man slightly older than the Ascendant stepped inside. He was plainly dressed in a brown garment that covered his entire body. His hair was long, to his shoulders, and gray. His beard was close-cropped and gray as well. He looked like a man who cared about his appearance but not becaus
e of what others might think. His dress was meticulous if simple because that was how he wanted to present himself.

  The man walked toward the throne, taking a knee at the appropriate place. "You summoned me, my liege?"

  "Thank you for coming. I know it's a long trip." The man had come from Mars, which he’d retired to more than two decades ago.

  "As long as I breathe, I will serve the Commonwealth, my liege."

  The man's name was Caius de Gracilis, and he was not someone to be trifled with. The Ascendant knew that, and he also knew he needed this man. He'd gone to Hel first, thinking an assassin could handle this issue. That was no longer the case.

  "I am certain you're aware of what happened to Pluto?" Alexander asked.

  "Yes. A regrettable if necessary action to eliminate the Subversives."

  Oh, the old man played the game as well as anyone who’d ever lived. Alexander stood up. "Please rise, Caius. Will you walk with me?"

  "Of course, my liege." The old man stood quickly, like someone half his age.

  Alexander stepped off his throne and walked to the old man. He offered his arm and the other took it, both grabbing the lower arm of the other. "It's good to see you again," the Ascendant said in a less formal manner.

  "Likewise, my liege."

  Alexander led the Martian outside the throne room and toward the upper portion of the Imperial Residence. They remained quiet until they reached the transport. "Have you been to the clouds?" Alexander asked.

  "No, my liege. I've never had the opportunity."

  "Come. I think you'll enjoy it," the Ascendant responded.

  The two got into the transport, followed by a single Praetorian Guard, and flew high above the world. It finally stopped in the middle of a white cloud. The side door opened, sliding into the wall, but no wind rushed in. The transport had latched onto a walkway, one that had been built two generations ago. Alexander's grandfather had enjoyed long walks, but he wanted to be alone when he did it, so he'd built this track among the clouds. It floated above the family’s domicile and was protected by a laser defense system.

  They were untouchable here, but the Praetorian followed at a short distance.

  "You know it's all bullshit, don't you?" Alexander asked as they began their walk.

  Caius looked down at the transparent floor. The clouds moved beneath him, and where they thinned, the world below was visible. "I figured as much. If we could destroy the Subversive movement by burning Pluto, we would have done it during Aurelius' time."

  He was referring to Alexander's ancestor—the first Imperial Ascendant, the man who’d started this mess and one of the Fathers who sat in that globe dictating to him what should happen. He was the one who’d made all of it possible.

  Caius said nothing else but waited for Alexander to speak. He was a smart man and wouldn't be rushed into mistakes.

  "How is Mars treating you?" the Ascendant asked.

  "It is at your disposal, as always, my liege."

  "The truth, Caius. It’s only us here."

  The old man grinned and looked over his shoulder at the guard. The point was made. The Ascendant was never alone. He stopped walking and looked above him. White clouds passed slowly around them. "Ruling a planet is a pain in the ass, Alexander, if it's the truth you demand." He brought his head back down and began walking again. "Though ruling a star system is probably more of one, so I'm sure you understand."

  "That I do, Caius."

  The old man was one of the very few people who had been able to transcend his family's lineage. He had been born to an upper house, become a ferocious Titan, a Primus in his own right, and then retired early to become Mars' Imperial Propraetor. There he ruled subject only to the Imperial Ascendant, and the man had done a fine job by any measurement.

  "The Commonwealth is in trouble, Caius, and I don't think either of us has the time to act like we don't know what's going on. I know you have birds that whisper to you, just as I do. You're aware of the former Titan we’ve been trying to kill?"

  Caius nodded. He placed his hands behind his back as they came to a bend in the track. "He’s the one they say was better than me, right?"

  The Ascendant shrugged. "Some, yes. Who can know, given the age difference?"

  "Yes, I'm aware of...some happenings," the old man said. Alexander knew what he meant; that the propraetor knew about everything that’d happened. From Hel to that snot-nosed brat Ares deserting the Commonwealth, he was aware.

  Are you thinking this might be your time to rise, old man? Perhaps you or your son could rule better than me?

  Alexander showed nothing of his thoughts. "I'm no longer going to chase him around the universe. We will have our spies watching him, but the concern now is that he's going to return, and when he does, he'll have an army at his disposal. Some think this might even be the Commonwealth’s end."

  He said the words without explaining who the some were. A man such as Caius wouldn’t need it spelled out. He had never seen the orb or heard the Fathers speak, but he knew of it.

  "What would you have me do, my liege?" The lightness in his voice disappeared as the situation’s gravity became apparent.

  "We have perhaps six months to ready ourselves. I will need you to marshal the other propraetors and all their strength from the seven planets. Both the Sanctum and the Edge. We'll need it all to repel this."

  Caius took a few more steps without speaking. "It's not just him, is it?"

  Alexander shook his head. "No."

  "It's true then?" Caius asked. "The twins are returning?"

  Alexander nodded. “We've been able to retrieve some of the Primuses' holovids. Their personal ones. They didn't know a lot, but what they did hear was the same thing we were told when we were next in line. The brother and sister see this as some kind of cosmic struggle. The woman thinks this former Titan will lead them out of the wilderness. The male twin? Who knows what he thinks, but he's chased her to the ends of the universe. He'll chase her here, too."

  Alexander was speaking more than he should, but the old man had a disarming way about him. Every propraetor wanted to be the Imperial Ascendant. It had been a birthright since the beginning, but only because of the strength the de Finitas held and the AI system calculating every possible move someone might make. Still, if the propraetors saw blood in the water, they’d swarm.

  Strength must hold, and Caius had to know that.

  "We can defeat them. I'm not worried about that. The Commonwealth is simply too strong to lose, but we must come together as one. You understand, Caius?"

  "Of course, my liege."

  They walked another large portion of the track in silence, then Caius spoke again. His voice wasn't that of someone playing a game but of someone trying to understand the truth of the matter. "This is it, isn't it? The Commonwealth can rule for another thousand years or fall in the next six months. Is that about it?"

  "Yes," Alexander answered.

  Caius de Gracilis went to the room assigned to him.

  He was sixty-two years old and thought the current Imperial Ascendant an arrogant, cruel man. Caius understood the cruelty. Anyone at that height of power had to have a streak of cruelty to keep said power. It was the arrogance Caius could never understand. They’d been given this life, and that was something Caius never forgot. True, they had to continually earn what they'd been given, but in the beginning, this royalty was handed to them.

  He met with de Finita once a year, the same as all the propraetors. You didn't want to meet with him more often; it meant there was something wrong with your propraetorship. When Caius had been summoned to Earth, he’d thought one of two things were happening. Either he would be assassinated to make way for some upstart to take over Mars—although this would cause a war with his family, but the Ascendant would win it.

  Or he was being summoned for this very reason: the Commonwealth was in danger.

  Could it be so? Caius had seen this former Titan once a long time ago, ten or fifteen years after
his own retirement. The man had been a perfect specimen. He looked like something created to arouse women, and from what Caius had been told, his battle skills were unrivaled. So those people who saw him said, although they’d quickly forgotten what Caius had been capable of.

  Caius understood the problems with the Commonwealth. He understood that he was a large part of those problems, a ruler who refused to give up his seat and would pass it down to his son. Yet, he knew the good the Commonwealth did too. He was versed in his history and understood the sheer terror that mankind had brought on itself and the environment before the One People, One Purpose mantra took hold. The Commonwealth had conquered a star system and allowed humanity to venture to the farthest reaches of the universe.

  There might be problems with it, but that didn't mean you threw it all away. The good far outweighed the bad, and Caius had served the Commonwealth for far too long to not see that.

  Caius sat in one of the room's chairs. It was much too soft for his liking, like everything on Earth. Other planets were soft in their nature, too, but not Mars. The red planet was hard. It was hard to rule, and that came from the hard living of its inhabitants. Earth had been cowed long ago, then had given the best of everything to pacify the masses. In truth, the Earthborn were probably not ready for a war of this magnitude. They weren't hard enough.