Excerpt: The Shadow of Rebellion

Once on the main floor, she walked around the halls of the former prison, and suddenly found herself in a crowded room full of men and a few women. All of them were sitting along tables that stretched from one end of the long room to the other. Kimble had found the mess hall.

She was amazed at how many people were there. The room was nearly filled with Rebels! She had no idea that the Rebels were so strong. She wondered if General Intelligence even knew!

Well, if I ever get out of here alive, I’ll tell them everything I can find out! she thought. But I can’t let the Rebels figure out who I am! She shuddered. No, that would not be good.

She peered at what the Rebels were eating. It looked like those prepared “Vitapacks” that the STEW took with them on long missions, when they didn’t know how much food would be available. They weren’t very tasty, but they were practical and nutritious.

She felt very alone. What am I doing here? She thought to herself gloomily. I don’t know what I’m doing! Kimble made her way to the farthest table, found a rather empty place, and took a seat. It was old and rusty. Everything about this place seems old and run-down! In theory, it may be a good hiding place, but really, I think I’d rather live in a cave!

Kimble looked at the faces of the Rebels around her. Her thoughts drifted back to Dec. She was determined to find him. That was why she was here! She had to keep her mind on her one task, finding her father, finding the man who had once been known as Dec Haansvoy. She wished she had seen a picture of him, even once, but her mother had not had any pictures of Dec, and Angle had only told her that he looked like her: dark hair, dark eyes, strong and balanced and quick. And he was a thief by trade, infamous for his uncanny ability to escape even General Intelligence. He was occasionally known as “the Slippery One,” and a few other names that Kimble thought she could remember. Angle had told her what he knew about their father’s past, and a sad, haunted past it was…

Her father had been born the son of a government official, on the capital planet of the galactic government. His father wanted him to become a politician, but his father died when Dec was fifteen, and Dec never received any of his father’s money to go to school, because of big debts his father had. Nobody knew what he did after his father died. It was a mystery, really. But somehow he discovered that he had a talent for pick-pocketing, and one thing led to another until he was well-known throughout the shady parts of the galaxy. That was all she knew about him.

Kimble wondered how he could have ever met and married her mother. And then he just disappeared again, she thought bitterly. It was all very strange to her. She sighed.

Her eyes glossed over several of the people nearby. Many of them had large guns casually strapped to their backs. Most of them were dressed in rather drab colors, but then a flash of blinding red streaked with black caught her attention. She stared, and saw that it was a man’s hair, dyed an unnatural color. She rolled her eyes. The people here were definitely not your “high society” types who all followed a strict trend in style. No, each of these Rebels had their own *unique* tastes in style and dress. She straightened her jacket self-consciously.

The man she had been looking at turned around, looking over the room, as if he were searching for someone he knew. He looked savage, like a feral animal contained in a human body. Kimble instinctively ducked her head to avoid his menacing glare. Yikes! This place really is full of dangerous people! I’ve got to remember to watch my back! She wished that someone would guide her through everything, teach her whatever she needed to know if she wished to survive long here.

Kimble took out her modified blaster and the mini missile launcher attachment. She figured that it was okay to do, since nobody else seemed to have any qualms about flaunting their weapons. She fiddled with it for a while, cleaning it and generally making sure it was in prime condition for her next battle.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the man with the shaggy, black and red hair stand up, still looking around the room. At last he walked down the aisle and out the door, stepping like a cat on the prowl.

Kimble shivered. She relaxed slightly, and returned her attention to her gun. She didn’t even notice when someone came up behind her to watch.

“So, you’re bored already, huh?” She jumped at the sudden voice of Jack Rondo. The man took a seat next to her and continued to inspect her blaster. “A nice piece you got there,” he said. “Looks like you made it yourself. Is that right?”

She nodded.

“Can I take a look at it?” he asked politely.

She looked at him for a moment, hesitating. She wasn’t yet sure if she could trust him or not. His friendliness seemed almost forced. Then she sighed and reluctantly handed the blaster to him.

He took it from her almost reverently. He turned it over and over in his hands, looking at all the modifications she had added over the years.

Kimble suddenly hoped that he wouldn’t be able to tell what it had been originally: a government-issued Special Agent Pistol, mockingly called SAPs by all the STEW agents. If this man knew a lot about guns, he would certainly be familiar with government weapons, no matter how tweaked it might be.

Jack, however, seemed impressed by her blaster, rather than suspicious. “Good work, Eleven,” he said, giving it back to Kimble.

She went back to polishing it vigorously. She felt uncomfortable, but she was also curious about this Jack Rondo. She knew that she should glean whatever information she could from him, while she had the chance, but she didn’t know how to start.

He solved her problem for her by saying, “Hey, if you want, I could show you around a bit, maybe let you in on a few of the secrets around here." He lowered his voice mysteriously.