by T. R. Harris
“We’ll see,” Sherri said with a scowl.
The ships landed, and even before the exhaust smoke cleared, Adam’s eight-person team, along with the twenty-five Marines, ran out from the rear loading ramps and sprinted for the huge, rusting freighter a hundred yards away. A small electric cart joined them, carrying Tidus and a Marine driver. They veered off and headed for the stealth spacecraft owned by Priority Acquisitions. With his broken arm, the Juirean would be useless in a fight. His time was better served getting the small vessel off the planet.
Copernicus and Jym carefully entered the Ed Gibson, aware that explosives may have been placed aboard for this very occasion. After a moment, they gave the all-clear and disappeared inside the vessel. Adam had a hell of a time convincing Coop that he was more valuable getting the EG going than simply adding another gun hand to the assault force. Reluctantly, he conceded the point.
It was midday in the hot Gracilian desert, with a stiff breeze blowing in from the south, making it even hotter. Adam and the assault group wore thin armor vests, designed to absorb most effects of even a level-1 flash bolt. However, the ambient heat set everyone sweating even before they reached the huge elevator panel. They were armed with M-201s, while Summer had her trusty compound bow slung across her back. She never went anywhere without it.
“This is something new,” Sherri said, having stopped at a point in the desert while looking down. “It’s another entrance.”
She was right. Exposed under a thin layer of sand was a circular metal hatch leading down into the bunker. Exhaust from one of the super starships must have blown away the sand, revealing the entrance.
The Marines spun the release wheel, and the hatch slowly fell open, operated by hydraulic hinges. Adam shined a light into the hole. A ladder led the way into the bunker.
“Let’s go this way,” he said. “It’s different; they won’t be expecting us here.”
The plan was simplicity itself. Adam knew there was once a combined force of one hundred defenders at the facility. After their last visit, that number was down to around eighty. Most were mercenaries, with only a crew or two worth of Gracilians among the mix. Adam had his people, plus twenty-five combat Marines. By all rights, it shouldn’t even be a contest. The Humans would make short work of the aliens. And that was the key. Jroshin may have six hundred warships, along with hundreds of Aris-like service modules to pilot them, but they were useless in a ground operation, especially underground. The only question he had was what would Jroshin do if he saw the battle was lost? Would he use his dark matter cubes from the collector to form a singularity bomb? If he did, it would not only wipe out the invaders, but also his precious fleet. Adam was hoping he was more pragmatic.
The parade began, with a long line of combat troops filing down the ladder. The Marines practically jumped down to the first landing, using the side rails simply as guides. After that, the team spread out, finding more ladders and even stairways deeper into the complex. As before, they encountered no defenders. They would show up when they were ready. They had to know the assault team was on the surface and now in the complex. Their arrival was hard to hide.
“Didn’t we just leave this party?” Sherri asked as she slid up beside Adam and Riyad. “Why are we doing this again?”
“The bull by the horns, my dear,” Riyad said. “However, this Aric Jroshin is a very confusing individual. First, he allows us entry and then tries to make a spectacle of killing us. And now he’s letting us back in again, and this time we have backup. I wish he’d make up his mind.”
“Quiet,” Adam ordered. “This way. I see light up ahead.”
The Marines led the way.
“Anything happening outside?” Adam whispered over his comm.
“That’s a negative,” Captain Wilson answered in his ear. “All’s quiet.”
“Good. We’re just about to the main hangar level. That’s where we should meet resistance. We’ll make a quick look-see and then report back.”
“Adam,” said Monty Pitts. He was on point with one of the Marines. “You’re not going to believe this.”
“What is it?”
Adam rushed forward, to where Monty and the Marines were standing in the middle of a wide portal, disregarding the need for cover. The moment he joined them, Adam saw why.
They were at the hangar, the cavernous chamber which could hold six hundred super starships.
At the moment, it held none.
24
The place was empty and eerily quiet, with a strong scent of lift-off gas in the air.
“Where did he take them?” Sherri asked the deserted room.
“I have something over here,” one of the Marines called out, not bothering with his throat mic. “Bodies. Lots of them.”
The team ran to the left, along the edge of the hangar to one of the large portals leading into the complex. There were half a dozen of the mercenary aliens sprawled out on the deck; their bodies twisted into almost pretzel-like positions. Sherri examined the nearest body.
“Some kind of intense electrical shock, from what I can tell. Boiled his blood. They’re all like this.”
Adam snorted. “Looks like Jroshin got rid of the excess baggage before he took off. But you know what this means. He’s charged and programmed the service modules. He’s probably moved his fleet to a planet with more of an infrastructure to help maintain the ships. This isn’t the last we’ve heard of him.”
“More bodies, captain,” said another Marine. They were probing the corridors beyond the hangar.
“You’ve got to see this, Adam,” Riyad called out.
Adam and Sherri rushed up to him. He was standing over a dead Gracilian, killed by the same intense electrical discharge.
“Why would he kill one of his own?” Riyad asked.
“Follow me,” Adam ordered. He set off down the hallway, following his memory to the meeting room where he’d first met Jroshin. The door was open, and inside were three more Gracilians—including Aric Jroshin.
He was alive—barely—a gurgling sound coming through his gaping mouth.
Adam bent down next to the alien, lifting his head.
The dark, beady eyes of the Gracilian recognized the Human. He blinked once.
“Cain,” he struggled to say. “You? Here?”
“What happened, Jroshin? Who killed your people?”
A thin, pained smile came to the alien’s dark face. “Who? Destiny…”
The eyes remained open as the alien’s last breath escaped from his burning lungs. Adam didn’t know where to check a Gracilian for a pulse, so he took it on faith that the alien was dead.
“What the hell happened here?” Sherri asked, panic in her voice.
Adam knew what she was feeling. Aric Jroshin and the Gracilians were the enemy, the lords of the underground bunker. Now they, along with their mercenary guards, were dead, slain by an unknown force. And not only that, but all six hundred of the dark energy warships were gone. Whoever did this had to have control of the service modules, as well. But who were they? And what plans did they have for the fleet of super warships?
Adam stood up and looked at Summer and Monty. They were standing off to the side, shocked looks on their faces, just like everyone else.
“If you still want him, you can have him,” Adam said to the bounty hunters. “Maybe you’ll get a finder’s fee.”
“You think that’s funny,” Monty said. He stepped forward and scooped up the dead alien before flopping him over a broad shoulder. “But I’m going to find out. Sure, we’ll take him.”
“Captain Wilson,” Adam announced over his comm. “Get the ships ready. We’re going home.”
Epilogue
Eight days later, the team was back at Capt. Cain’s Bar & Grill, this time seated at tables on the sand and under large, colorful umbrellas. Bar-b-que dinosaur sizzled on the grill and the tables covered with empty glasses which once held the finest non-beer this side of the Fringe.
They’d found n
o answers since leaving Gracilia. The dark-energy warships were still missing; the question of who killed everyone at the underground bunker was still a mystery, and Summer Rains was still her bitchy self.
“So, what are you guys going to do now?” Adam asked the tiny blonde bounty hunter. The alcohol she’d consumed hadn’t changed her mood, although there was still hope. “Are you going back out on another hunt?”
She shook her head a little too emphatically. Perhaps the beer was having an effect.
“No way. We’re sticking around here for a while,” she announced. “Going up into the mountains in search of a fortune in lost treasure.”
“Aric’s billions,” Copernicus said with a smile. He and Sherri were snuggled together, their romance having been rekindled over the past few days. The rest of the team hadn’t seen much of them after they got back to L-3, not until they decided to take a breather and join the others for BBQ and beer.
“It’s up there,” Summer slurred. “You know it; I know it. Let’s keep it that way. With Jroshin dead, most of the other vultures have left the planet.”
“Vultures?” said her father. “Watch it; I resemble that remark.”
Adam looked at Tidus. He seemed content wearing his arm sling and knowing he wouldn’t have to suffer the wrath of PA executives for the loss of the stealth starship. And he was fine with doing a little prospecting in the mountains of Liave-3. Who knows, they might even strike it rich.
“I’m right there with you,” Riyad said to Summer. “Anything you need, I got it. And don’t get greedy. There will be plenty for all of us.”
Summer laughed. “Welcome aboard, you sexy slab of sexy brown beef.” Summer leaned over and gave Riyad a sloppy, full-mouth kiss. Riyad was shocked, although he wouldn’t take it seriously, not much. The girl was drunk.
“What about you, Coop?” Adam asked with a wicked grin. “I suppose you’ll be sticking around.”
“For a while. I’ve been given me full access to the dark energy ship. I’m not leaving until I’ve probed every last nook and cranny of her hot, sensual interior.” He was looking into Sherri’s eyes as he spoke.
“Are you still talking about the dark energy ship?” Monty asked.
Coop bounced his eyebrows.
“And what are you going to do, our fearless leader?” Copernicus asked.
Adam laughed. “I’m stuck here for a while. Dal Divisen and Lion/El have me neck-deep in this Constitutional Convention thing. We’re forming a government here on old Liave-3. Going to bring some sense of law and order to the frontier. We’re even going to change the name of the planet.”
“You are?” Tidus asked. “Why?”
“Because Liave-3 is simply a navigation designation; the third planet in the Liave star system. Nothing sexy about that. Without an advanced indigenous species, the planet never got a name. We need an identity of our own, something to set us apart.”
“What are you going to call it?” Copernicus asked. “How about Sherri’s World? I could go for that.”
“Me, too,” Sherri purred.
“I’ll keep it in mind. But actually, we’re having a Name-This-Planet contest. The winner gets a full week at the luxurious Maris-Kliss Resort in beautiful downtown Balamar, all expenses paid. But I’m supposed to say: The contest is open to the general public, except for employees and/or immediate family members of Maris-Kliss Industries or its affiliates. Other than that, enter often, and good luck.”
Copernicus laughed “What I meant was about the missing fleet. You know this isn’t over, not by a long shot. Whoever has the ships will use them. And without the fleet, the Gracilians are backing away from trying to take over the Dead Zone, or anyplace else for that matter. That changes things.”
“Frankly, Coop, I don’t know what’s going to happen,” Adam answered as he stretched out a wide grin. “But fortunately, we never have to wait more than a month to find out. Thanks, T.R.”
The End
Galactic Vortex
Be sure to pick up the next exciting
Adam Cain novel.
Galactic Vortex
Releasing March 23, 2020
Available for pre-order
Book #4
of
The Adam Cain Chronicles
Author’s Notes
Thanks so much for reading book #3 of
The Adam Cain Chronicles,
Battle Plan
Next up is
Galactic Vortex
(Available for pre-order)
Well, we’re off and running with The Adam Cain Chronicles. You just finished book #3, with book 4, Galactic Vortex, coming out in March 2020.
There will be a new Adam Cain book every month throughout 2020, maybe longer, depending on whether this publication schedule kills me or not. Since I write all my books, I’m not able to crank out three, four or even more books a month. Truthfully, very few people can, not without help. So, keep checking your email for publication announcements. A new book will be out around the 20th of each month, depending on the day of the week the 20th falls on.
Another thing you’ll notice about the series: The books are a little shorter than normal, generally around 40,000 to 50,000 words. Because of this, they’ll be priced lower than those in The Human Chronicles, at only $3.99 (compared to $4.98). I know, big savings, right! But every little bit helps.
This new writing/release strategy is designed so I can keep my loyal fans fed with more Adam Cain adventures, while also freeing me up to explore new series and story ideas. These new books/ideas include more volumes in my REV Warriors series, as well as the misadventures of galactic Realtor Jason King. I’ll also be introducing new series along the way, including a set of fantasy books I’ve been working on for a while (with a science fiction twist to them). They should appeal to readers of both sci-fi AND fantasy. At least that’s the plan.
In other news, I’m currently working on getting all my books into paperback. With 47 books on the market—including boxsets—and with only a handful of them in paperback at this point, this isn’t a simple task. But I’m determined to get them all done by the end of the year, as well as having all the new releases for the year in paperback so I don’t fall behind—again.
Also, I currently have the last two REV Warriors books—REV: Revolution and REV: Retribution—being made into audiobooks, along with the first three books in The Adam Cain Chronicles. Each new book in the Adam Cain series will also be produced in audio with a couple of months of publication. Getting all my books into audio is another goal of mine for 2020. At the moment, I only have eight books in audio, with another five in the works. Again, an ambitious goal, but something my readers have been asking for.
And while I have you here, I want to make another pitch for you to 1) Sign-Up for my Email List and 2) Join my private Facebook Fan Page. Both are free to join and are great ways for me to stay in touch with my fans. I love the interaction on Facebook. (And I often use the names of my Facebook fans in my books. That’s always fun.) Just click on the links provided to get things going.
And if/when you sign up for my email list, you’ll have the opportunity to get three free books as a bonus. For those who are on the list, you know I don’t spam you, only sending emails when I have something important to say, like when I have new releases out or other key information about my various series and writing projects. I encourage everyone to sign up. I don’t sell or share the list with anyone, so you won’t get inundated with emails from other writers. Again, follow the links in the Sign-Up Section to get on the list.
That’s it for now. Be looking for the next Adam Cain book coming out in March, and every month after that, along with all the exciting new stories I have lined up for the new year.
T.R. Harris
February 2020
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Novels by T.R. Harris
The Adam Cain Chronicles
The Dead Worlds
Empires
Battle Plan
Galactic Vortex (Coming March 2020)
The Human Chronicles Saga
The Fringe Worlds