by Ricky Sides
Table of Contents
Book 4:
Book 5:
Book 6:
The Peacekeepers,
Eternal Vigilance.
Book 4
By Ricky Sides
Copyright © 2009
Cover art by Todd Aune
Edited by Frankie Sutton
Prologue
Book 1
Over the space of a few weeks, a series of natural disasters occurred on a global scale. Untold millions died as a result of the natural disasters around the world. The best scientific minds in the world failed to locate the cause for this unprecedented series of events. Some people believed that they were witnessing the wraith of God.
A rogue nation decided to take advantage of the chaos at that time to attack America with nuclear weapons. The American intelligence network learned of the plan and the government decided to launch a first strike at this rogue nation. This information leaked out to other nations and soon the world was poised on the brink of all out nuclear conflagration as the nuclear nations of the world chose sides in the coming conflict.
As the militaries of the world went underground in preparation for the impending conflict, most of the world was blissfully ignorant of what was about to happen. There were a few exceptions to this. The civilians who were aware of the coming war made plans to try to survive the attacks.
As the moment for the anticipated attack drew near, earthquakes of unprecedented intensity and numbers beset the beleaguered planet. Oddly, the epicenters seemed to be located at every major military installation around the world.
When the survivors of the earthquakes looked around the next morning, they saw a world drastically changed. Most men and women struggled to cope with the devastation as best they could, but many turned to marauding as a means of survival. They preyed upon the other survivors they encountered, slaughtering anyone who opposed them as they took anything they wanted.
A few of the survivors banded together to protect those weaker than themselves from the bands of roving marauders.
Jim Wilison: Martial arts expert trained in survival techniques. Superb marksman. Gifted martial artist. Tactical training for leadership. Sniper skills.
Patricia Huxley: 28 year old woman who was a child prodigy specializing in computer programming.
Tim Wilison: 13 year army corps of engineers. Demolition specialist, pilot of small single engine aircraft as a hobby. Marksman, and student of military battle tactics.
Lina: A free spirited woman dead set on exploring the country to see what was left. Rescued by Jim and trained extensively.
Lacey Carteen: A woman who was attempting to raise her eight year old son in the post cataclysmic setting. Rescued by Jim. Taught survival training by Jim. Became a stabilizing influence in his life.
Evan Carteen: 8-year-old son of Lacey who helped heal an old wound in Jim's soul and in the process made him a better man.
Pete Damroyal: Aging veteran of Vietnam war era. Sniper. Guerilla warfare specialist. Organized large survival group in Chicago Illinois. Superb tactician. Hand to hand combat specialist. Leader of the Illinois survival group.
Maggie Peterson: An attractive woman in her mid thirties with short black hair worn in a short shag. Maggie had been a trauma care specialist at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago who was known for her volatile temper and her at times unorthodox approach to saving lives. She had been brought up on charges upon three separate occasions for deviating from protocol. In each case her unorthodox approach saved the lives of her patients whereas following the protocols would have failed to do so, therefore the Chief of Staff had ordered the incorporation of her new techniques into standard treatment protocols.
Tim rescued Patricia when she was attacked by armed men and he learned that she was seeking a prototype vehicle designed for the military. He joined her in this quest to locate the ship, which Patricia and her father had dedicated years of their lives toward seeing brought into development. Together they located the ship and retrieved it from the underground bunker. Fighting the Marauders as they traveled south, they headed from Missouri to Alabama to link up with Tim’s brother Jim.
Pete and his band of survivalists also traveled south to Alabama when Chicago became too dangerous for the group. They were forced to leave the city earlier than Pete had planned because of the actions of a traitor to their group. This traitor organized pursuit and a small army of Marauders traveled south to north Alabama in search of the survivalists.
Jim and Pete were old friends. Pete was Jim’s mentor who taught him a great deal about survival. They were reunited in Athens just as the army of Marauders closed in on the survival group. A battle ensued in the city and the survivalists were forced to withdraw to the farm owned by Jim for a last desperate stand against the Marauders. Things looked grim for them at the farm when the leader of the Marauders sent three tanks against the group. They fought this menace with small arms but they were losing the battle.
Just as they were about to make a desperate run to escape, Tim and Patricia arrived in the Peacekeeper. After the enemy was defeated, Tim told them all that he and Patricia were looking for a crew to fully man the ship. The survivalists vote and opt to join the Peacekeepers.
This was the Birth of the Peacekeepers.
Book 2
A well-organized group of Marauders who planned to return in a few days and kill the men, then take the women captive as sex slaves attacked the people of Arley Tennessee. However, the sophisticated radio equipment aboard the Peacekeeper intercepted a message detailing the plot. The men and women of the newly christened Peacekeeper faced their first real test. Working together, the fledgling peacekeeper groups managed to stop the planned massacre and help the people of Arley prepare to face the coming winter.
The peacekeeper base in north Alabama, designated Base One, was constructed. The majority of the structures that comprised the base were built belowground. Only the entrances were aboveground. A large hangar was constructed in the side of a hill to house the Peacekeeper.
A routine call caused a six man peacekeeper team to be dispatched to deal with a rogue bully who was tormenting the residents of Jewel Mississippi. However, when the team arrived they found no ordinary bully. Instead, they encountered a skilled sniper waiting to kill peacekeepers. The sniper picked off their members one by one. In desperation, an emergency call was made to Base 1. Pete learned that his old nemesis Reggie had killed the peacekeeper team. The Peacekeeper traveled to Jewel where the crew managed to capture Reggie, who was finally executed for his numerous crimes against humanity.
The Peacekeeper journeyed to Jonesboro, Louisiana where something was killing the people of that community. The crew unraveled the mystery and discovered the identity of the mystery killers. One by one, they killed the former circus predators and the animal trainer who controlled them.
When the peacekeepers left Jonesboro, Louisiana, many of the residents opted to return with them to Base 1. They underwent peacekeeper training and established a peacekeeper outpost in the city of Jonesboro.
Pol Bleakman, the brilliant scientist, engineer, and a member of the original development team who had helped develop the prototype ship approached the peacekeepers at Base 1 with a proposal. He would upgrade the ship for a slot on the crew. The crew voted to take him up on the proposal. Pol fulfilled his promise and upgraded the ship. He dramatically increased the altitude capability and speed. He also solved the power loss problem, which occurred when the ship flew at the upper limits of its altitude cap. In addition, Pol led the peacekeepers to a supply of bullet resistant uniforms and hard body armor.
Not long after the Jonesboro, Louisiana, base was established, several grou
ps of Marauders merged to raid this newly formed peacekeeper outpost. The Peacekeeper crew and peacekeepers from another Louisiana city made it to the fight in Jonesboro in time to save most of the peacekeepers that were severely outnumbered.
A thousand outlaw bikers headed for the small town of Alamo, Tennessee. They were bent on taking hostages to use as human shields as they pushed through peacekeeper territory on their journey south. The peacekeepers prevented the mass abduction of city residents, thanks largely to Pol Bleakman. Pol discovered a secret weapon aboard the prototype ship in the midst of the battle. With the newly discovered minigun at their disposal, the peacekeepers managed to eliminate the hoard of bikers.
Book 3
The peacekeepers traveled to Hannibal, Missouri, to the site where the development team had done their original work on their ship. They had hoped to find the components needed to build additional lasers for their base defense. While there, they also picked up the two small, scale models of the Peacekeeper, which Pol used to create drones that could be controlled by operators aboard the ship.
Lina and Robert were waiting at the base when the crew returned. The crew of the Peacekeeper soon discovered that the pair had run from Texas to Alabama, fleeing slavers who operated slave farms in that state. When the pair was nursed back to health, they led the peacekeepers on a mission to stop the slavers and free the slaves.
A renegade former soldier had recruited thousands of followers and planned to name himself President of the United States. The crew of the Peacekeeper stopped that plan and saved America from a brutal military dictatorship.
The crew of the Peacekeeper traveled to Millbrae, California, and located the factory where some of the precious alloy created by Patricia’s father had been stored. They also learned that the Pentagon had stolen some of the developer’s work to create a doomsday fighter aircraft. One by one, the crew unraveled the secrets and the peacekeeper air force was born. Dozens of additional drones were also created.
A man who would be king took control of Kansas and issued a stern warning to the peacekeepers. “Stay out of Kansas.” To show that he meant business, the king killed one captive peacekeeper and made a sex slave of another.
Utilizing almost all the remaining precious alloy, the brilliant scientist Pol Bleakman and his assistants, along with the help of the other peacekeepers, created a drone battleship.
This fledgling peacekeeper air force dealt with the crisis in Kansas.
Preface
Jim was inspecting the Peacekeeper as had become his habit before an important mission. Walking down the length of the fifty-five foot long ship, Jim paused beside the door that opened into the control room and frowned. Looking up at the guard posted just inside the open door, he pointed to a smudge and said, “Someone touched the hull with dirty hands.”
Emerging from the ship the guard noted the smudge and said, “I’ll notify the Lieutenant at once, sir.”
“Thank you, Sergeant. I expect that smudge to be gone before we depart,” Jim responded and then proceeded with his inspection.
Continuing around to the front of the ship, Jim noted that the front of the twenty-five foot wide Peacekeeper was spotlessly clean. He had to step back away from the ship several feet to get a good view of the ten-foot tall vessel. The windshield had recently been cleaned. Jim was pleased when he remembered that yesterday he had seen a spot of grime on the windshield and had expected to be able to add that to his inspection report. Someone, probably his brother Tim, had seen to that detail prior to the inspection. Inside the control room looking out at him, Jim saw his brother, Tim standing beside Pete. Tim was laughing. Amused at his antics, Jim continued his inspection.
Jim gave the faintly visible seams of the two recessed weapons a quick examination. One housed the main laser cannon of the ship. The other housed the conventional minigun. He noted that they were both clean and free of even the smallest debris.
Walking around the other side of the ship, Jim soon came to the rear of the vessel. There, he examined the faint seams of the door that opened downward, forming a boarding ramp, and the twin aft lasers. These seams were also clean and free of even the slightest debris.
Jim saw Pol and Bill twenty feet behind the Peacekeeper. They were inspecting the two drones. The drones were small, scale models of the Peacekeeper. One of the drones had wings. Under each wing, a small bomb rested in its bracket. Powerful lasers and video cameras armed both drones. They were also equipped with communications equipment, which permitted the peacekeepers to remotely hear and send messages to personnel in close proximity to the drones.
Resting behind that set of drones was the massive battleship drone. The battleship was a remarkable sight. In appearance, it mimicked the fighters but on a vastly larger scale. However, to accommodate the weapons packages, the nose of the ship was wider than a scaled up version of the fighters. Of course, it had no cockpit since it was a drone.
The battleship was armed to the teeth. It took four operators to operate the enormous drone, which was easily the size of a basketball court. One operator would actually fly the ship via remote control and handle the main forward laser as well as one of the miniguns. Another operator would handle the remaining forward laser gun and minigun. The third controller would handle one of the rear miniguns and the laser. The fourth operator would have a minigun and would serve as the bombardier. The firepower that the ship was capable of unleashing was amazing. Pol had completed his inspection of that battleship prior to beginning the inspection of his smaller drone.
Beside the Peacekeeper, Jim watched Namid as she walked around her fighter critically examining the aircraft for any sign of damage or stress. The fighter was sleek and virtually seam free with the exception of the canopy seal. The fighter was tear-shaped with the narrow end being the nose. The rear of the aircraft was crescent shaped. A minigun on the left and a bomb rack on the right armed the short stubby wings. An armorer’s team had fully loaded both these weapons systems. The aircraft was approximately seven feet high at the cockpit, which was the thickest portion of the plane. It had a foot wide rounded nose and it tapered out to twelve feet wide at the rear. The nose of the fighter contained a powerful laser cannon. The fighter had an overall length of approximately twenty-one feet and was gray in color.
Satisfied with her inspection, Namid looked up and saluted the captain. Jim pointed to his chest as he always did when signaling a query as to whether or not Namid was wearing her body armor. By way of reply, Namid closed her right hand into a fist and slammed it hard into her chest. Jim recognized the thudding sound as proof that beneath her flight gear Namid was wearing her hard body armor. Saluting a dismissal, he watched as Namid climbed into the cockpit of her fighter to await the order to commence the mission.
Jim noted Namid’s ready status as he circled the ship and headed for the control room entrance. Grunting in satisfaction, he noticed that someone had cleaned the smudge beside that entrance. Reaching up he patted the surface of the cool grayish-white alloy that comprised the hull of the ship.
Entering the control room, he glanced at the duty stations and the control room crew busily going about their last minute preflight preparations. He noted the recently cleaned black control panels with their glowing multicolored soft touch buttons.
Next, Jim walked back to the hallway that passed between the six sleeping cabins of the ship. Stopping at random, he opened a cabin door and stepped inside. The three small bunks inside that room were all neatly made. There was no gear left lying around the room. The slide out drawers beneath the beds that contained the occupants’ possessions were all closed.
Returning to the hallway, Jim closed the door softly and continued to the galley. Here he inspected the cabinets to ensure that all were properly secured. Satisfied that the galley was in proper order, he stepped over to the small mess hall located on the other side of the hallway. He found the mess hall spotlessly clean. Even the waste container was empty.
Striding into the cargo bay
Jim walked immediately to the battle bikes and critically examined the locking mechanisms that held them securely in place while the ship was in flight. If left improperly secured, the four heavy machines could do an incredible amount of damage. He found all four bikes to be perfectly secure so he turned his attention to their armaments. The machineguns, rocket launchers, and forty-millimeter grenade launchers were all unarmed as per protocol.
Walking next to the storage cabinets where the strike force team kept their gear and the ammunition for the battle bikes Jim opened each and noted that everything was properly stored.
The captain smiled and closed the door to the storage cabinets. He ordered Lieutenant Wilcox to have his men bring aboard the two small drones while he completed his inspection.
As the rear door of the cargo bay was descending, Jim walked over and opened the door to the latrine. Inside he found both the shower stall and the commode to be spotlessly clean. Also clean was the small sink and the cabinet doors were properly secured. Jim even inspected the small mirror mounted on the wall above the sink. That too was spotlessly clean.
Exiting the latrine, Jim saw that the drones were already aboard the ship and that the strike force team had secured them in their fasteners, which held them secure while the Peacekeeper was in flight. Like the motorcycles, the drones could do an enormous amount of damage if they were improperly secured. The cargo bay door closed as Lieutenant Wilcox reported, “Both drones secured and ready for flight, sir.”
“Thank you, Lieutenant. Good job men,” the captain responded.
Returning to the control room he said, “Lieutenant, open the channel for a ship wide address if you please. And make sure Namid hears this as well.”
“Done, sir,” the ever-efficient Patricia said. She had anticipated his orders.