Black Swarm
Page 23
The energy for all the spellscripts in the mech-frame came from its three rechargeable power cells. Earth tech had advanced far in the last hundred years, and especially in the energy storing devices. And finding a way to convert that energy from Earth power cells to energy usable by spellscripts had been a large undertaking. But not an impossible one. The Ethorrians already had many different kinds of spellscripts for converting energy—it was how they gained enough energy to power some of their spells, like those capable of creating portals between worlds.
There were several ways in which Ethorrian mages gained power. The most common was by making a contract with an elemental. Others included converting energy from active volcanoes, powerful rivers, and ritual sacrifice. It was how they powered most of their cities, or at least how the more powerful ones did.
Kane noticed the Admiral looking out of the window of his office, and for a moment he hesitated in taking his attention from whatever it was that had taken it.
“Sir,” Kane said slowly. “I’ve heard rumors that the UEC might be considering deploying us.”
Admiral Villanueva turned back to stare at Kane, his eyes studying him for a moment.
“You heard that from Specialist O’nga I assume?” Admiral shook his head, not even waiting for Kane to answer. “The Wanderers really need to start following our protocols more closely.”
Kane’s mouth quirked into a half-smile. The fact that the Wanderers still couldn’t follow simple procedures was something of a joke around the compound. “She meant well, our ways are not always logical to them. And the UEC didn’t help with their request.”
Admiral sighed. “It’s not a consideration anymore. You are being deployed, and soon. I was just about to send out orders. I’m sending you and the rest of the squadron on leave. The least I can do is get you a few days on Earth. The briefing will take place two weeks from now in Brussels, all of the pilots are going to receive orders to report at the base a day before the briefing.”
Kane closed his eyes as the words sunk in. Many that were part of this project had been wondering if it would be them who would take up the fight against the aliens. Wondered if their leaders would finally, after nearly half a century, decide to strike back. And now it was the reality. They were going to try and take back humanity’s access to the stars.
***
Kane sat on the roof of the hangar housing his mech-frame. It had become something of a secret place where he came when he had thinking to do. Tomorrow he would go through the portal and back to Earth, and then… He had trained for war and battle his entire life, and he had been in combat before. But now, it was going to be against the aliens. Every time he had gone to fight before he had known that he held the upper hand, either in skill or technology, but usually both. He had gone on missions against terrorist organizations, crime syndicates, cult militias, and in all those cases he had battled an inferior foe. Dangerous for sure, but nothing compared to the aliens.
And that uncertainty made him question his mortality, perhaps for the first time in his life. Gazing up at the stars of a parallel universe he tried to decide if he was satisfied with the hand life had dealt him.
“Deep in thought?” A voice drew him from his own thoughts, and Kane turned to see Jackson, his second in command and the pillar of the small four person team Kane had been a part of for most of his life.
“You could say so,” Kane said and turned his eyes back to the stars.
Jackson sat down on the roof beside him and joined him in his stargazing. They sat there in silence for a long while, completely comfortable in each other’s company. After all, they had known each other since they were ten years old, when they along with the rest of their team had been recruited for the government secret project. They were brothers in all but blood. That was why Kane knew that something was bothering his friend. But he knew that Jackson would talk in time. And a few minutes later Jackson did just that.
“Are you scared?” Jackson asked.
“A bit perhaps,” Kane answered.
“Liar,” Jackson said in a soft tone. Kane didn’t answer. Jackson knew him very well, there was no point in lying.
“You always were like this, without fear.”
“I’m not without fear, I just fear other things.”
“Like what?” Jackson turned to look at Kane, the stars and the strange colors of the Ethorrian night sky making his brown eyes sparkle in the darkness.
“Things that I have no control over, like losing my family.”
Jackson turned his head back to the sky. “Me too. The aliens don’t scare me that much—either we win or we die. I fear other things as well…”
Kane kept quiet, waiting. He didn’t usually like to pry, but he knew what his friend meant. So he spoke.
“Jane?” Kane asked in a whisper.
“Jane,” Jackson confirmed.
Just like Kane and Jackson, Jane had been recruited by the government, and she had been part of their group since they were children. To Kane she was like a sister, but he knew that Jackson had always cared for her a little more. He also knew that Jackson would probably never tell her that.
“I don’t fear the aliens or dying,” Jackson started. “I fear not telling her how I feel, and I fear telling her how I feel.”
“Telling her might change things,” Kane said, knowing that Jackson would understand the double meaning. Things could change for the better or for the worse.
“And not telling her could be one of my greatest regrets.”
“It is your decision to make.”
“I know,” Jackson said finally. They spent the rest of the night in silence, looking at the stars.
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Rise of the Empire series
Olympus
Sanctuary
Out of the Ashes
Warpath
Inheritance
Onslaught
What War Had Wrought
Hand of the Empire
Conquest
Nomad Fleet
Black Swarm
Book 12 – coming soon!
Tower of Power series
Guild Master
Book 2 – coming soon!
Eternal Path series
Eternal Soul
Book 2 – coming soon!
Universe on Fire series
Broken Stars
Shadow Stars
Book 3 – coming soon!
Glossary
Cast of Characters
Empire
Adrian Farkas-Reiss — Human; Former Lord Sentinel of the Empire; Warmaster of the Nomad Fleet; Dal A’sha to Kar Daim Anessa of the Shara Daim. Known as the Heart of the Mountain.
Ryaana Farkas-Reiss — Half human, half Shara Daim; Former Sentinel of the Empire; Battle commander of the Nomad Fleet; Daughter to Adrian and Anessa.
Lurker of the Depths — Sowir, the greatest telepath in the Empire.
Elias Bakas — Human; Leader of the Hand of the Empire.
Jacob Kelly — Human; Inquisitor of the Hand of the Empire. Former leader of Earth resistance.
Nkiruka — Human; Inquisitor of the Hand of the Empire.
Tomas Klein — Human; Emperor of the Empire.
Seo-yun Hyeon — Human; Minister of Science; Tomas’s partner.
Laura Reiss — Human; Fleets Master of the Empire; Adrian’s adoptive mother.
Nadia Wilson — Human; Minister of Civil Service.
Aileen — Human; Sentinel of the Empire
Oswald Mein — Human; Commander of Fleets.
Nair Hakeem — Human; Fleet Commander of the First Fleet.
Johanna Stern — Human; Fleet Commander of the Third Fleet.
Gotu — Nel; Administrator of Sol system
.
Isani — Nel; Leader of Clan Warpath.
Jusan — Nel; Leader of Clan Dai Ven.
Shara Daim
Anessa — Former Kar Daim of Shara Daim; Battlemaster of the Nomad Fleet; Dal A’sha to Lord Sentinel Adrian Farkas-Reiss.
Kane — Kar Daim of the Shara Daim; Son of Anessa and Adrian.
Vaana — Kar Daim of the Shara Daim; Daughter of Anessa and Adrian.
Garaam — Dai Sha, commander of the Shara Daim Legions.
Karoom — Dai Sha of the Twenty-Second Legion.
Horas — Dai Sha of the Twenty-Fifth Legion.
Arisak — Do Sun to Dai Sha Garaam.
Erasi
Valanaru — Gatrey; Ancient of the Erasi. Known as the Weaver.
Vorash — Uvaramo formerly Loraru; Ancient of the Erasi; Viceroy of the Erasi.
Krashinar
Old Scar — Once known as the Seeker; Krashinar Hunt-master.
The Six — Enigmatic leaders of the Krashinar race.
The People
Axull Darr — Ultimate ancestor of the Human, Nel, and Shara Daim races.
Ullax Darr — Axull Darr’s twin sister, life partner to Waiss Gast.
The Enlightened
Waiss Gast — Once best friend of Axull Darr. Later becomes Aranis of the Enlightened.
Eroill Noust — Scientist of the People. Later becomes Doranis of the Enlightened.
Nariax Oera — Scientist of the People. Later becomes Loranis of the Enlightened.
Josanti League
Levisomaerni — Matriarch of the Partenai, one of the oldest races in the Josanti League.
Andar — Councilor of the Josanti League.
Races
The People — The first intelligent race in the galaxy.
Human — Genetic descendants of the People, engineered by Axull Darr and left on Earth to evolve. Founding members of the Empire.
Nel — Genetic descendants of the People, engineered by Axull Darr and left on Nelus to evolve. Founding members of the Empire; Former members of the Consortium.
Shara Daim — Genetic descendants of the People, engineered by Axull Darr and left on Shara Radum to evolve.
Guxcacul — Arthropods, subterranean; Former members of the Consortium; Members of the Empire.
Sowir — Aquatic- and land-based race; Former members of the Consortium; Members of the Empire.
Trivaxian — Mammalian; Members of the Empire.
Furvor — Avian; Members of the Empire.
Uvaramo — Members of the Erasi; Formerly called Loraru; Former members of the Union.
Gatrey — Members of the Erasi.
Ssarath — Members of the Erasi.
Krashinar — An Enigmatic race with territory in the Outer Arm on the coreward border of the Erasi territory.
Hasre — Mammalian bipeds; Territory in the Outer Arm on anti-spinward border of the Krashinar.
Partenai — Winged quadrupeds; One of the three races uplifted by the people; They rebelled and were punished by being returned to their homeworld; Later become the founding members of the Josanti League.
Tar’ferat — Avian race; One of the greatest core powers.
Ships
Empire Warships
Empire Fleet — Modern Empire fleets consist of 1200 missile cruisers, 1000 battle cruisers, 600 battleships, 400 dreadnoughts, and 800 drone carriers, for a total of 4000 warships. In addition, every fleet has 600 auxiliary vessels, which include: repair ships, construction ships, ammo ships, military transports, and stealth scout ships, for a total of 4600 ships per single fleet. The Empire possesses sixteen Sovereign-class warships.
Drone-class warships
Appearance — Sleek blade.
Size — 300 meters long, 100 wide and 150 tall.
Weapons and defenses — High-powered proton beams, ion beams, plasma turrets. Shields.
Missile cruiser-class warships
Appearance — Rectangular platforms.
Size — 1400 meters long, 400 wide, 200 tall.
Weapons and defenses — Proton beams, s-missile launchers, antimatter-torpedo launchers. Drone point defense systems, shields.
Battlecruiser-class warships
Appearance — Resemble sleek talons.
Size — 1000 meters long, 350 wide, 550 tall.
Weapons and defenses — Proton beams, ion beams, molecular disintegration beams, s-missile launchers. Drone point defense systems, shields.
Battleship-class warships
Appearance — Overlapping carapace-like plates, turtle-shell design.
Size — 2200 meters long, 1300 wide, 600 tall.
Weapons and defenses — High-powered proton beams, ion beams, molecular disintegration beams, plasma turrets, s-missile launchers. Drone point defense system, shields, shimmering field.
Dreadnought-class warships
Appearance — Arrowhead design.
Size — 3200 meters long, 2100 wide, 750 tall.
Weapons and defenses — High-powered proton beams, ion beams, molecular disintegration beams, plasma turrets, high-powered kinetic turrets, antimatter beams, s-missile launchers. Drone point defense system, shields, shimmering field.
Command-class warships
Appearance — Arrowhead design.
Size — 4200 meters long, 2300 wide, 850 tall.
Weapons and defenses — High-powered proton beams, plasma turrets, high-powered kinetic turrets, s-missile launchers. Carries two Frigate-class vessels. Drone point defense system, shields, shimmering field.
Drone carrier-class warship
Appearance — Open ribcage design.
Size — 4200 meters long, 3000 wide, 1800 tall.
Weapons and defenses — Proton beams, drone control teams. Drone point defense system, ability to power both the shields and shimmering fields at the same time. Carries forty drones and drone repair facilities.
Sovereign-class warship
Appearance — Depends on the generation. All are some variant on the World-ship Enduring and its six-sided pyramid shape.
Size — Depends on the generation; all are between 48 and 58 kilometers long, 18 and 24 kilometers wide/high at the widest/highest point.
Weapons and defenses — Proton beams, ion beams, antimatter beams, molecular disintegration beams, xa-nan turrets, high-velocity kinetic turrets, plasma turrets, s-missile launchers, antimatter torpedoes. Carries six Frigate-class vessels. Drone point defense system, shields, shimmering field.
Shara Daim warships
Shara Daim Legion — Modern Shara Daim Legions consist of 1000 missile cruisers, 1200 battlecruisers, 600 battleships, 800 super battleships, and 400 carriers for a total of 4000 warships, plus another 600 auxiliary vessels, for a total of 4600 ships per single fleet. The Shara Daim possess twelve Sovereign-class warships.
Drone-class warships
Appearance — Sleek blade.
Size — 300 meters long, 100 wide and 150 tall.
Weapons and defenses — High-powered proton beams, ion beams, plasma turrets. Shields.
Missile cruiser-class warships
Appearance — Pillar shaped.
Size — 1300 meters long, 600 meters in diameter.
Weapons and defenses — Proton beams, s-missile launchers, antimatter-torpedo launchers. Drone point defense systems, shields.
Battlecruiser-class warships
Appearance — Pillar shaped.
Size — 1200 meters long, 500 meters in diameter.
Weapons and defenses — Proton beams, ion beams, molecular disintegration beams, s-missile launchers. Drone point defense systems, shields.
Battleship-class warships
Appearance — Pillar shaped, with a widening at the middle of the ship in a shape of a rectangular box.
Size — 2600 meters long, 800 meters in diameter (pillar), 1500 meters wide and 900 meters tall (middle part).
Weapons and defenses — High-powered proton beams, ion beams, molecular disintegration beams, plasma turrets, s-missile l
aunchers. Drone point defense system, shields, shimmering field.
Super battleship-class warships
Appearance — Pillar shaped, with a widening at the middle of the ship in a shape of a rectangular box.
Size — 3600 meters long, 880 meters in diameter (pillar), 2400 meters wide and 1200 meters tall (middle part).
Weapon and defenses — High-powered proton beams, ion beams, antimatter beams, molecular disintegration beams, plasma turrets, s-missile launchers, antimatter torpedoes. Drone point defense system, shields, shimmering field.
Drone carrier-class warship
Appearance — Half-sphere design.
Size — 3800 meters in diameter, 2000 tall.
Weapons and defenses — Proton beams, drone control teams. Drone point defense system, ability to power both the shields and shimmering fields at the same time. Carries forty drones and drone repair facilities.
Sovereign-class warship
Appearance — Depends on the generation. All are some variant on the horseshoe or narrow-arch design.
Size — Depends on the generation; all are between 48 and 62 kilometers long, 24 and 32 kilometers wide at the widest point, and between 4 and 10 kilometers tall.