Warrior Chronicles 3: Warrior's Realm

by Shawn Jones

  “Will the Collaborative Government go along with that?” Kim asked.

  “It’s not up to them. I run the military, and I want forward bases. I’m not willing to take planets away from friendly species, but I am committed to securing this galactic arm against future threats.”

  “Can I have a few for more planetary refuges?”

  “Hopefully, you won’t need any more, Kimberly, but yes. According to information gathered from the prisoners, there are going to be almost one hundred planets available. Half of those will be set aside for military use, including about ten in which the entire systems will be reserved for us. That means there will be another fifty or so that will be available for other uses and future colonization.”

  “We are going to need more people, General.”

  “Yes, we are, Chief. But that’s up to Dar and the civvies.” Looking around, Cort said, “We are getting way ahead of ourselves though. This meeting is about fighting the war. I want the CG and our civilian leaders in on planning the exit strategy. In fact, I’m leaving for Earth after we finish up so I can update Dar and the other alliances.”

  Earth

  Dar Sike put down his single malt and took a long pull on a cigar before saying, “You are building a military empire, Cort.”

  “I’m glad you didn’t say dictatorship, Dar, but it would have been just as accurate, if not more so. It’s a dangerous road I’m leading us down, but I don’t see any alternatives that are safe for humanity. We’re stuck on a galactic stage now, and we need more than our pack. We need more people and I’m going to need you and Kimberly to keep me grounded. Lex is too much like me to be of any use when it comes to moderation. And while Bazal has become a great friend to me, war just isn’t his way.”

  “I agree with much of what you said, Cort, but you are wrong about needing more than our pack. The pack is what binds us. It actually creates a sense of unity. My suggestion is that you increase the size of the pack, not look for outside help.”

  “That means trusting other people. I’m not good at that.”

  “Then you shouldn’t have founded an empire.” Dar sipped from the whiskey again. “In fact, if you feel that way, you should not have left your cave.”

  “Those were simpler days, Dar. You might be right.”

  “Yep. And I would still have Clare and Kay, and Rand would still be in prison on Mars, and Atlantica would still exist, and you would still have Sköll, and humanity would be still be blissfully at peace and ignorant of you, or the good aliens, or crystal-making cockroaches. You really screwed it up for all of us, Cort.”

  “Fuck you, Dar.” Cort stood up and started for the door.

  Dar jumped up and moved with surprising speed block Cort’s exit. “No. Fuck you, Cort. Fuck you for thinking this mess is somehow your fault. I have news for you, buddy, Those fucking cousins of Lap’s were crystallizing planets before we started rubbing sticks together to make fire. You want to know the truth, Cort? If all this shit had happened just twenty years ago, before you got here, you might have woken up in a block of crystal.”

  “Get outta my way, Dar. Right now.”

  “No.”

  Cort considered moving Dar and walking away, but thought better of it. As he relented and turned to slam himself down in the seat he had occupied, the wooden chair broke under the force of his temper and the savior of the galaxy ended up on the ground. Cort could feel Dar’s gloating smile as he raised himself up and kicked the broken wood out of the way so he could pull another chair out and sit down.

  Dar said, “Dumbass.”

  “I should have shot you the first time I saw you.”

  After pouring more whiskey, Dar said, “You probably should have, that’s true. I would certainly have less to do.”

  “Anyway. What do you mean about increasing the size of the pack?”

  “The Keen Protocol. Except for the original Ares Federation members, all humans still have metallic synthetics. We test them before converting them to Kay’s bio-synthetics, and then recruit the humans who pass.”

  “We might need a billion people for the military, Dar. Can you get me that many?”

  “Yeah. Even volunteers only, I can probably get you three times that.”

  “Once we accept them, we have to be loyal to them too. There cannot be tiers of membership.”

  “Agreed.”

  “Work with JJ and Book on it,” Cort said.

  “Okay, so who will be in charge of training ground troops?”

  “I’ll talk to Mike Rage. He’s the best choice right now.”

  “No. Kimberly is the best choice.”

  “I would like to keep her out of it. She’s got Solitude to develop.”

  “Oh,” Dar raised his eyebrows. “Then why is she on your war council?”

  “Because she is the only person who isn’t too afraid of me to be honest.”

  “No. She is just the only person you will listen to.”

  “Fuck you, Dar.”

  “Cort, we keep talking about being a pack. From what I understand, most packs had two alphas, a male and a female. She is our other alpha. Stop fighting that and use it to our advantage. The reality is, if you were to put these service academies on Solitude, it would give our people a better idea what we are fighting for. At least talk to her about it.”

  “I’ll think about talking to her about it. That’s the best I can do.”

  “I have two more things to talk about. First up, names,” Dar said.

  “Names?”

  “Yeah. It seems Bazal started a trend when he called Kim by her historic name. Pretty much everyone in the pack is researching their names now, and submitting changes.”

  Cort chuckled. “Well, Bazal is right. Kimberly is much prettier than Kim. I’ve never understood why you went to single syllables anyway. I researched it once. The other alliances didn’t even get it. All I can find out about it is that it had something to do with a religion. I can’t even figure out which one.”

  “You missed three hundred years of history and in your free time, you researched names. You are an enigma, old man.”

  “I researched a lot of things. So what else do you want to talk about?” Cort asked.

  “Okay. Next up is the Asians. They have asked if you will visit Ake Kule the next time you visit.”

  “Why?”

  “It seems they want to honor you.”

  “Fuck.”

  Ake Kule, Asianic Alliance

  After the Cull and the formation of the Asianic Alliance, the capital of the alliance was built at Ake Kule in extreme north central China, near the traditional borders of Russia, Mongolia, and Kazakhstan. Considered one of the most beautiful places on Earth, the snow-covered mountains that surround the glacial lake made the perfect backdrop for the ceremony held in Cort’s honor.

  The ceremony itself was a long, boring affair with several speeches about how great Cort was for uniting humanity and his journey across time. One speaker expounded on the great stage Cort had led the Ares Federation onto and how mankind was set to take its rightful place among the stars. To Cort, it was one long-winded speaker after another, until it was time to present him with a gift.

  A young wolf that was clearly going to be the largest one Cort had ever seen was led onto the stage by two men. It was already nearly as large as Zandra, and would certainly be larger than Sköll, himself big for the breed, and this uncut male appeared to be less than a year old. Cort guessed it would top out at over two hundred pounds in another year. There’s something different about him. Please let him be a gift to me.

  “General Addison,” one of the two men began, “Some decades ago, I had the honor of meeting your friend John Wills. At that time, as a token of friendship, he gave me an ancient canine skull. A wolf skull to be exact. Using its DNA and cells you provided the scientific community from your wolf Sköll, we have been able to clone the canine represented by the artifact John gave me all those years ago. General, I would like to present to you
the first specimen of the species Canis dirus to walk beside man in over ten thousand years.”

  Oh my gods! A dire wolf? Cort stood and walked to the podium. He kneeled and allowed the wolf to smell the back of his hand before scratching the top of its head. The wolf jerked its head back and tried to bite Cort’s hand, but Cort was too fast and knocked the animal down. Before it could recover, Cort pushed the wolf’s neck to the floor of the stage and held it there while the wolf struggled.

  Finally a low growl escaped its mouth and Cort let it up. The wolf stood, then sat, in front of Cort and allowed the man to pet him. I have a new alpha. For now.

  “I am sorry, General. We did not expect that. We understand if you do not wish to accept the wolf.”

  Cort stood and said, “Absolutely not. He is the greatest gift I have ever been given, either in this time or my own past. I cannot thank you enough, Doctor Tsao, either for the honors you have paid me today, or for this gift. What you just saw was absolutely necessary. I established myself as his leader, and he accepted me. He trusts me, and I can trust him. With my life even. Which brings me to what I have to say.”

  “We are in this together,” Cort said as he turned to the gathered crowd. “Humanity is now one pack, and I need your help.”

  Cort spoke for less than five minutes and received a standing ovation, before bowing to the gathered officials and leading his new wolf down the steps on the side of the stage. He spoke to Yuan Tsao, the scientist that had been John Wills’ friend, and learned more about the cloning process used to bring the wolf back from extinction. He found out the Asians had developed a kind of synthetics for the wolves, based on Kay Gaines’ bio-synthetics, and that his new wolf had them. The Asians also agreed to supply them for all of the military wolves of the Federation.

  Solitude

  That night, the introduction of the new wolf to Zandra and Coke could have gone better. Zandra was not happy with the new pup, but was sure in her position as a beta. Coke on the other hand, had to fight to keep his place. Cort wouldn’t let Kimberly interfere until it was clear that Coke was going to lose, regardless of his greater size, then he made her slap them both. Coke was shocked by the blow to his snout more than anything else, but the new wolf needed two additional slaps to submit to Kim. “Remember what I taught you about hierarchy back on Mars,” Cort said. “He has to know you are an alpha like me.”

  “I know, baby. But it goes against my nature to slap him.”

  “Says the woman who personally spaced Atlantica spies back on Mars.”

  “Maybe so, but they had it coming,” Kim was petting both male wolves now. “These two are just getting to know their places. And poor Coke lost his.”

  “But if an enemy attacked Coke now, he has an additional ally.”

  “So what are you going to name your new one?”

  “Bane.”

  “Ooh! I like that. You know, we needed another wolf, anyway.”

  “What do you mean?” Cort asked.

  “I’m pregnant, baby.”

  “What? I thought we were going to wait." Cort was confused but smiling.

  “When I converted to the bio-synthetics, my birth control was not turned on. I don’t know if it was the medical staff’s fault, or mine. Either way, we are a having a baby, baby.”

  “Are you happy?”

  “Yeah, I am.” Kim looked at him and softly said, “We can still wait if you need to, but I’m ready.”

  “If you are ready, I am.” Cort remembered Diane’s smile and said, “You just have to accept that it will be the most well-protected baby in human history.”

  “I can live with that.”

  --

  Speral’s ship landed the next morning. It was an unscheduled visit, and when the airlock opened, Bazal’s tank emerged. Cort was working with Bane, and the pair arrived when Kim and Bazal were almost to the administrative building complex. Bane started to growl but stopped when Bazal turned to him.

  Stop, Bazal. You may not ever influence the wolves. Not under any circumstances. Do you understand? Not any wolf you ever meet.

  I do, Cortland. I apologize.

  Bane resumed growling, the hair on his neck standing on end. When Cort said, “Bane! Heel!”, the dire wolf backed up slowly, and stayed beside his new alpha, waiting for the walk to resume.

  “Hello, Cortland. It is good to see you again. You have a new wolf.” He is different, isn’t he? He seems more, primal, than his companions.

  “Yes. Bane was a gift from a government on Earth. He is a different kind of wolf, called a dire wolf. His species has been extinct for thousands of years, and was engineered using an ancient skull and modern technology, along with modern wolf tissue.” He is much more primal. He is in fact, much more suited for me. He is a vicious as I am. I am sorry for snapping at you, but I cannot let him be calmed.

  Bazal watched the wolf and read him. Turning back to Cort, he said, “I see. He is a noble beast. Hopefully, he will come to accept me as a friend to your pack.” He is wild. Almost feral, Cortland. Be careful with him. He still weighs challenging you. He accepts you, but is of a mind to assert himself as your alpha.

  “He will, with time. What brings you here, Bazal?” Carrying on two conversations at once is a pain in the ass.

  Bane knew something was passing between the alpha and newcomer, but he didn’t understand it. He may be my alpha for now, but you are the whelp, and a weak one at that. He stepped cautiously forward, looking back at Cort, and urinated on the side of Bazal’s tank. Before he could be commanded to, the wolf returned to Cort’s side and relaxed.

  “Why did he do that, Cortland?” Bazal asked.

  “He was asserting his place within the pack. He isn’t sure if you are a part of it or not, but he is letting you know your place.”

  “To answer your other question, Cortland, I am here because of changing attitudes on Government World. Lap is being petitioned to prevent your attack on his cousins.”

  “That isn’t going to happen. The Collaborative has no influence on my decisions. But Bazal, you could have communicated that to me. Why are you here?”

  “I hope Kimberly will allow me to swim.”

  Kim had been silent during the walk, listening to the conversation and wondering about Bane’s behavior. When she heard her name, she had to think back over what she had heard before saying, “I’ve told you before, Bazal, you are always welcome here.”

  “Thank you, Kimberly.”

  Seven

  AFS Taurus

  “General, we are finished,” Captain Platt said from his command chair.

  Cort had listened to the the navigator and tactical officer run through the routine of placing anchor particle after anchor particle. There were over a hundred such gravitons assigned to each Remington class ship, and the particles had been placed so that any enemy response would be out of position when the ships transitioned to their next firing locus. The first rounds were to be fired in near orbit, and with each transfer, the ships would jump further out and fire again. The tactic would keep the ships out of each other’s way, and keep the defensive net around the planet from being able to respond effectively to the attack.

  The big ships’ holds were packed with so many tungsten slugs that crew members could barely move through the ships The new magazines held enough ordnance to destroy each planet, but Cort was moving the ships to another planet immediately after each attack. There were ten enemy planets in the first target group.

  “Thanks, Mike,” Cort said. “Is there any sign of abnormal activity in the system?”

  “No, sir. The big ships should be okay.”

  “Alright. I’m going to transfer over to the Remington when we jump back to the rally point. I want you to start placing anchors at the next target immediately. I know I don’t need to say it, Mike, but use a different pattern at each target. And watch yourself. I expect there to be some sort of enemy activity within three planets.”

  “Yes, sir. I won’t even let them scratch o
ur paint.”

  “Good man.”

  As they exchanged salutes Captain Platt added, “Good hunting, sir.”

  AFS Remington

  “Welcome aboard, General.,” Admiral Jones said when Cort floated into the access port. There was no room for shuttles because of the ammunition load outs. Even the ships’ shuttles had been moved to the Peacemaker-class ships to be used in search-and-rescue efforts if necessary.

  “What’s it like floating around your ship instead of walking?”