by Luigi Robles
Sodenia’s War
Prequel + Trilogy
Luigi Robles
Copyright © 2020 by Luis Robles
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, email [email protected]
Contents
Space Bound Zero Hour
1. Life interrupted
2. Fleeing
3. Landfall
4. Base
5. Aftermath
The First Space Bastion
1. Reaching the End
2. The Dream Team
3. Unworthy
4. Experiments
5. Captain
6. Red Alert
7. Survival
8. Substitute
9. Strong
10. Disruptions
11. Run
12. Serum
13. Chaos
14. Drifting
15. Space Walk
16. AI
17. Battle Fleet
Epilogue
At the Edge of Chaos
1. Aftermath
2. Definitions
3. Shadows
4. The Council
5. Nightfall
6. Friendlies
7. Ghosts
8. The Message
9. Galactic Matters
10. The Builders
11. Gravity
12. Warm-blooded
13. The Jump
14. The New Fleet
15. The Struggle
Epilogue
Afterword
Also by Luigi Robles
Sodenia
1. Static
2. The New Guy
3. Ascension
4. Doka
5. Resurgence
6. Embers
7. Lost
8. Silence
9. Pact
10. Paths
11. The Plan
12. The Champion
13. Unbreachable
14. Goodbye
15. Machines
Epilogue
Afterword
Also by Luigi Robles
1
Life interrupted
Thirteen years ago
It was Fain’s last day of school before spring break, and he was excited to get it over with. He was anxiously watching the wall clock with its floating arms tick and tack as it made its way to the end of the day. Fain had always been a good student, but he had also always enjoyed time away from school. And this time around, things were special—unlike other spring breaks, Dad would be home. Dad had been away for over a year this time around. Doing what? Mother didn’t know, let alone him. All that he knew was that whatever Dad was doing, it was top-secret. Dad had said so himself.
Mr. Stewart glanced at the large clock, and Fain knew at once what this meant: it meant that he was about to set an assignment.
But Fain didn’t let that get to him. He was determined not to let his spirit break, so he made up his mind to take any assignment, whatever it might be, in stride.
“OK, looks like I still have time,” Mr. Stewart said. “And if the bell rings while I’m still talking, you better remain in your seats. I don’t want anybody leaving before I’ve finished giving out the assignments.”
The group groaned in unison.
“OK, fine,” Mr. Stewart said. “I won’t be that mean this time around. I will only set you one assignment. But I expect greatness from each and every one of you.” Mr. Stewart paused to write on the digital board behind him. “The assignment is as follows. You’ll go to the school’s library, pick out the oldest-looking book you can find and write a report on it. But I don’t want to just hear whether you liked it or not, and certainly not an outline. I want to hear your thoughts on it. Was it a good book? Was it bad? Was it meh? And why? What could have made the book better, heck, what could have made you not like the book? Make sure it is an actual paperback or hardcover book. No e-reader stuff or downloading to your phone. None of that cool stuff.”
Well, this isn’t that bad, Fain thought. I like reading books. Who doesn’t like reading books? Everybody likes reading books. Although I can’t remember the last time I held an actual book in my hands. I mean, I know what they look like. But… In fact, I’m not sure I’ve ever held one. This should be interesting, and it’s not bad.
Michelle, the biggest bureaucrat in the classroom, had her hand raised as soon as Mr. Stewart finished digital-writing on the board.
Mr. Stewart saw that she once again had her hand raised, and he pressed his lips together. “What is it, Michelle? Do you have a question about the assignment?”
“No, not about the assignment itself,” Michelle said as she lowered her hand. “The assignment is pretty straightforward. What I’m wondering is, why do we have to go to the school’s library? Why do we have to go to that old place when we could pick any library that has old books, right? Or is it imperative to the assignment that we go to the school library, and if it is, I want to know why? Because it wasn’t made clear.”
Mr. Stewart let out a clear and audible sigh. But then he smiled. He was probably remembering that it was the last day of school and he would have a break from all these things. But that was only Fain’s guess.
“If you had waited a little longer,” Mr. Stewart said, “I would have addressed those issues. Going to the school’s library was an opening statement, as I wanted to get to the point of the assignment. I chose to say school’s library so that some people in this room who are unaware of their local libraries would not be panicking and focusing on where to get the book instead of focusing on the assignment itself. But yes, Michelle, if it makes you feel better, you are allowed to choose the library that you want, as long as it has an old paperback book, preferably from the 19th century or earlier.”
The bell rang, and everyone began putting their stuff away.
“Hold on there, Space Cowboys,” Mr. Stewart yelled over the noise. “I’m still not done, and I still don’t know if everyone here understands this or not. So, sit back down, and raise your hand if you understand the assignment.”
Everyone complied, because everybody knew how stubborn Stewart got if he didn’t get his way.
“Good. Very good,” Mr. Stewart said. “If it makes you feel better, that makes me feel a lot better. And with that being said, I hope you guys have a good spring break. I’ll be looking forward to each and every one of your reports. Oh, and one last thing. Remember that there’s going to be a meteor shower this weekend. Make sure to look out for it. I recommend going to a place where there is little light. Tell your parents about it. It’s definitely worth it, every once in a while, to look up at the stars. After all, you never know what could be hiding up there.”
The classroom emptied what seemed to be seconds after Mr. Stewart finished speaking. Fain was the last one to leave.
“See you when we come back from spring break, Mr. Stewart,” Fain said as he walked towards the door.
“Did you hear what I said about the meteor shower this weekend?”
“Yup, I heard you loud and clear,” Fain said. “I’ll keep it in mind.”
“Trust me when I tell you, Fain, that you don’t really want to miss things like that,” Mr. Stewart said. “Because, if we are to keep our place in the universe, we must be aware of what our place is. We must know what’s out there and what we have to do with it. Anyway, I hope you watch it. It is going to be one spectacular show. Astronomers from acr
oss the world are paying close attention to this one. This is going to be special for some reason.”
“Yeah, I’ll make a point to bring it up with my parents,” Fain said as he walked out the door. “Thanks for letting me know again, Mr. Stewart. See you when I get back from break.”
Well, that was weird, Fain thought. Who would’ve thought that Mr. Stewart was so into stars and stuff? With all the advancements and telescopes that have been made and all the pictures readily available, I didn’t really think there was much need to look up. Maybe he’s right. Anyway, where’s the library again?
Fain made his way to the library, following the map on his school app. He couldn’t help but feel some measure of incompetence for having to rely on an app to take him to the school library. After all, this was easy. He should know where it was by now. But at the same time, another part of him reminded him that the school was not small at all. In fact, it was one of the biggest schools in the region.
As he walked down the long corridors of the school towards the library, he began to notice that fewer and fewer students were still around. And when he got to the school’s library, he was the only one there. It looked like no one had been inside in years. If it wasn’t for the bots cleaning the carpet and shelves, the place would be deserted.
Fain didn’t even know where to start searching for his next book. It was all too overwhelming. But he knew that he had to start. He just walked through the aisles, but none of it resonated with him or caught his interest. And most of the books seemed so long. He wanted an easy read, something to the point. As he walked by the strategy aisle, he stopped. Something about that aisle looked interesting. And after reading several titles, one of them stood out from the rest: The Art of War.
This is perfect, he thought. It’s not too thick, so it won’t take forever to read, and it looks interesting enough.
He then took out his phone and opened his school app. As he put the book inside his backpack, the app updated automatically, registering Fain as the borrower.
I wonder what people used to do before apps? Fain thought, unable to come up with an answer.
Fain stared at the other bookshelves for a few minutes, and he also walked around the second floor, but having nothing else to do in the library, he decided to leave.
As he was walking out of the library, he bumped into Mikey, one of his only friends in school.
“Hey, Fain, how did you find this place so fast?” Mikey asked, catching his breath.
Fain took out his phone and pointed to the screen.
“Oh, that’s right,” Mikey said as he stood up straight. “I forgot that the school has its own app.”
“You should try downloading it sometime,” Fain said with a smile. “You are going to need it anyway to check out a book from here.”
“Dang it,” Mikey said, snapping his fingers. “I don’t have any space on my phone left. I’m going to have to delete something. This is how you get unwanted junk on your phone. Maybe I should have listened to Michelle and looked for another library.”
“Dude, don’t you have the P-3? Doesn’t that come with a terabyte of storage, besides the OS?” Fain asked. “And why would you go and spend time searching for a library when this one is right in front of you? On top of all that, I’m pretty sure that you will need an app to check out any book anywhere, period.”
“No, it’s not one terabyte, it’s three,” Mikey said. “But yeah, you are right. I guess it wouldn’t hurt to get rid of a movie or two. Dude, how large is the school app?”
“Mikey...” Fain said, letting his frustration be heard in the tone of his voice.
“Alright, alright,” Mikey said. “I get your point. See, this is why I like you, Fain. You are always steering me the right way. Hey, by the way, I’ll see you in the arcade this weekend, right? You’ll be there?”
“Oh, crap. Don’t tell me the Space Wars tournament is this weekend?” Fain said sheepishly.
“Don’t tell me you forgot about it,” Mikey said. “Dude, you are our team’s best pilot. You have to go. If you don’t go, we are going to get crushed by Atom’s team.”
“I can’t go, Mikey,” Fain said.
“And why not?” Mikey asked.
“My dad is going to be here for the next three weeks only,” Fain said. “And I haven’t seen him in over a year.”
“Oh, well, that’s a good reason,” Mikey said. “I guess. Well, we are going to lose for sure then.”
“Come on, Mikey, don’t say that. Be positive,” Fain said. “You might win. Just make sure that you go first, and don’t let them score against you guys. You are great at defense. Their defense isn’t so great.”
“Yeah, but their offense is,” Mikey said as he looked at the floor. “We are going to be so screwed. I’m going to be so screwed.”
“Oh, come on, Mikey,” Fain said. “If you guys get your asses kicked by Team Atom, then for sure I’ll participate in the next tournament, no matter what.”
“Swear it,” Mikey said, looking up at Fain.
“I swear.”
“Alright, good talk,” Mikey smiled.
“Wait, what?” Fain asked, confused. “That’s all?”
“Yeah, because even if they win this time around, we are still going to be the champions,” Mikey said with a smug look on his face. “The way the board stands, they have to beat us at least two consecutive times.”
“Hey, wait a minute,” Fain said. “If that’s the case, why am I even worrying?”
“Nope, nope, too late, Fainy boy,” Mikey said. “You can’t un-swear something. What’s done is done.”
“But I didn’t have all the information,” Fain protested.
“Yup, that’s not my problem,” Mikey said, extending his fist towards Fain. “So, then we are good? I’ll see you when I see you?”
“Yeah, I guess,” Fain said as he bumped Mikey’s fist, and he began walking. “See you around, Michael.”
Mikey chuckled and said something under his breath. Fain couldn’t help but smile as he walked away. Mikey had always been a good friend, and he was always there for him. Fain also suspected that Mikey thought of him the same way and that there would never be hard feelings between them.
Fain almost couldn’t contain his excitement about seeing his dad when he got home. He ran inside the house and dropped the backpack right in the middle of the living room.
“Dad? Are you home?” Fain yelled as he ran towards the stairs. “Dad, are you here?”
“Yeah, it’s nice to see you, Mom,” Mom said as she came into the living room. “Heck, I’ll even take a hi, Mom, or at the very least ’sup.”
“Sorry, Mom,” Fain said. “Hi, Mom.” He smiled a forced smile.
“Aww, quit it,” Mom said. “I understand that you are excited to see your father.”
“Yes, I am,” Fain said. “So, is he here? Where is he?”
“Your father was helping me prepare dinner,” Mom said. “But I sent him out to get dessert. He should be back in a little while. So, in the meantime, get that backpack and take it up to your room.”
At once, Fain took the backpack upstairs to his room and came back down running. He sat on the dining room table, looking out the window as he waited for Dad. About forty-five minutes passed this way.
“Which store did you send him to?” Fain asked loudly so that Mom could hear from the kitchen. “The other side of town?”
“I didn’t tell him which store to go to,” Mom said loudly. “I just told him that we needed something for dessert. He has taken a while though, and it’s almost time for dinner. If he’s not here in ten minutes, I’ll call him.”
Mom’s words were able to calm Fain down for a little longer. He watched the clock on his phone intently, counting down each minute. He thought that at the very least he would get to call him.
“Mom,” Fain yelled when the clock on his phone showed that ten minutes had passed. “It’s time. Give me his number; I’ll call him.”
“He is
starting to worry me,” Mom said. “Let’s see, where did I leave my phone?”
“Here, use mine,” Fain said eagerly, trying to hand her his phone.
“Ah, Fain,” Mom said as she rejected his phone. “Even if I used your phone, I still don’t know his number.”
But then they heard a hover pull up to the driveway. Fain saw it through the dining room window. It had to be Dad. There was no other person it could be.
“Finally, there he is,” Mom said. “He was beginning to worry me.”
Dad walked in through the front door carrying a large grocery bag. Fain knew the store logo on the bag. It was just a few blocks. Why did it take him so long to go there? Even without a hover, Fain was sure that he could walk there in fifteen minutes or so. Regardless, Fain got up from the table and ran to Dad.
“Hey, buddy,” Dad said as he embraced Fain. “It’s good to see you.”
“Welcome back, Dad,” Fain said as he embraced Dad back. “We were just about to call you.”
“You were?” Dad asked. “Even if you had, I didn’t have my phone with me. I left it upstairs. You know Mom’s rules—no phones when it’s family time. But I was really trying to hurry over.”