Rise of the Defiant: Book Two of the Warpmancer Series

by Nicholas Woode-Smith

  ‘Them lizards sure know how to grow some good leaf.’

  ‘They literally bleed for it.’

  Danny turned and saw the familiar face of Viper coming towards him. The Asiatic sniper was still wearing his Grook uniform, Snake-Bite hung over his shoulder. He bore new scars.

  ‘Viper! Long time.’ Danny’s smile was genuine as he put out his hand.

  Viper didn’t accept it. He also didn’t smile.

  ‘Boris is dead.’

  Danny dropped his cigarette.

  ‘H... how?’

  ‘Aegis operation. Was a suicide mission. We were sent to Grengen to retrieve a VIP. Boris was killed in action.’

  Danny gulped. ‘Well, people die in war. Boris knew the risk.’

  ‘Boris knew skite. None of us did. Mission was a… follow me. Not safe to talk here.’

  Danny tailed Viper to a utility room near one of Nexus’ construction sites.

  ‘Viper, calm down. I’m going to miss him. He was my cousin, for Defiant-sake! But that doesn’t mean there was something wrong with the mission.’

  ‘Sending four operatives, not even on the Aegis official payroll, into a planet enslaved by one of the largest corporations in free space is something wrong with the mission,’ Viper spat.

  ‘Four?!’

  ‘Myself, Boris, Gre’sse, Regg. Just Grooks. No back up. No support.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘Quentin wants me dead, Danny. He wanted us all gone. Me, especially. I besmirch his legacy. A brother who was raised by the filthy aliens he so despises.’

  ‘If he wanted you dead, he might as well just kill you. How did you get off-world, anyway?’

  ‘Quentin can’t eliminate me explicitly, or just abandon me. Gloria wouldn’t let that happen. He needed us to be killed in action, then pretend to cry afterwards.’

  Danny paused and looked away. The construction syns nearby were quickly re-erecting the support columns for the market area.

  ‘I find this… a bit hard to accept,’ Danny finally continued.

  ‘You don’t need to accept all of it. Just know that your cousin is dead and was killed by your boss – indirectly, directly, intentional, unintentional. It doesn’t matter. If you want to honour Boris’ memory – you can’t keep working with Aegis.’

  Danny contemplated this for hours afterwards. Lying awake, Krena asleep by his side, he thought about what Viper had told him. He didn’t want to believe it was true, but experience and a gut-feeling that he had learned to trust told him otherwise.

  But Viper was wrong. Leaving Aegis was not the solution. If Quentin did murder his cousin, then Danny wouldn’t just leave. You keep your enemies within stabbing distance, and if Quentin had really wronged him, Danny would make him pay.

  

  Erryn hated hospitals. The noxious cleaning chemicals, the smell of sterilised rubber, the sense of loss. The reminder of suffering. Barry, her adopted father and captain of the Kolheim, had died in a hospital bed. This hospital. Confined to her bed, she was not able to avoid these sensations, or that memory. All she wanted was to be in the seat of the Kolheim, riding out into the void.

  That was no longer possible.

  Her home, her everything, were gone, and with it, her leg.

  The grenade had not killed her, but had mangled her leg beyond repair. But, as she awoke, she found a new leg in its place. It felt wrong. She tapped it when it was elevated and realised that it was much harder than her real leg. It was cybernetic, with a coating of regrown skin. She didn’t know who paid for it. She knew she hadn’t. Her credits had dried out a month ago. The nurses and syns didn’t answer her when she inquired. She had long since given up.

  Foot-steps stopped beside her bed, away from where she was peering out of the window at the reconstruction of the city.

  ‘Lunch-time already?’

  ‘Not sure,’ a familiar voice replied.

  Erryn turned, causing some pain in her neck. Yobu, Jilly by his side, smiled at her.

  Jilly clambered onto the bed and hugged her. Erryn hugged back. Eventually, they let go.

  ‘What happened?’

  ‘Half your lower body was blown off by that grenade,’ Yobu added. ‘Your replacement organs and leg should be more than sufficient. Day or two and you can get back to piloting. I’m sure the Defiant will have a new ship for you – something worthy of a war hero.’

  ‘How did I afford all this?’ she indicated at the stitches around her lower abdomen and left-leg.

  ‘You didn’t. I could. A Trooper doesn’t need to spend his money. I had plenty of savings.’

  Erryn blushed. ‘You didn’t have to…’

  ‘I didn’t,’ Yobu interrupted. ‘But I did. Now, Jilly has something for you.’

  Jilly beamed and handed Erryn a small box wrapped in plastic paper. Erryn raised her eyebrow and opened the parcel.

  It was the Kolheim.

  ‘Aegis has been selling it,’ Jilly explained.

  ‘Selling my ship?’ Erryn asked, irritated.

  ‘Selling a likeness of your ship, with all credit to the pilot,’ Yobu replied. He took out a printed sheet and handed it over. It read:

  ‘Captain Erryn Kolheim. For the rights of the usage of the Kolheim likeness, the Aegis Corporation will like to offer a 10% royalty of all funds accrued. Please enjoy this complementary model, courtesy of Aegis.’

  Erryn harrumphed. It was the least they could do.

  ‘10% is a lot of money, Erryn. You could retire.’

  ‘I don’t want to retire.’

  ‘Then don’t. Get a ship. Become a shipper again. Or stay…with me.’

  Jilly was glancing between them.

  Erryn smiled. Yobu smiled back.

  

  Martyr Grexus of Xerl had only felt defeat once before. That was against the Voroz, over three thousand rotations ago. The warp-immune brutes had proven too strong for him or any of the Martyrs, and thus they were inducted into the Council. That was to be expected. The Voroz were powerful. They were an exception. Martyr Grexus had never been ashamed of his loss to them. They were worthy foes, and even worthier allies.

  But he also didn’t feel shame at this loss. While many of his officers charged fruitlessly into the slaughter, or destroyed themselves out of fear and shame, he just watched as an empire was born.

  The alien hive glistened like his horde. They were imposters. The Martyr had felt frustration at the fact that he couldn’t release his full force upon the abomination, as that would have destroyed the planet, and a thousand rotations of work with it. Alas, they were forced to fight the way the Star Horde had for time immemorial. Legion against legion. Staff and lance against the weak flesh of barbarians. But this time, it had not been enough. Out of countless worlds, Martyr Grexus of Xerl failed to take the one planet which he had Blighted so many rotations before.

  The Areq had fallen by his hand. Their home was made into a farm – for the Warp crystals that the Martyrs and the Imperia so needed. But with its destruction, Resh had become stronger. The Blighted could not be Blighted again. Nova Zarxa, as the humans and other demons now called it, could not fall like Zona Nox.

  Martyr Grexus of Xerl watched as his ship retreated, destroying the puny pursuing vessels. From his vantage, he gazed out onto the birthplace of an empire. This Defiant, he had no doubts, would become a galactic force. He could not underestimate them again. For the Ulyx and Edal were not the only Warpmancers in the galaxy.

  But the Martyr did not fear defeat. He knew it was impossible. He had watched empires rise and fall. Every one of them collapsed to the one true empire. For they were the sword that would guarantee peace. They were the legion that would bring order to the galaxy – the power that would rend everything.

  The Martyr would have smirked, if he could smirk. For he knew that they were the Council. They were the End.

  

  Re’lien practiced her breathing as the ice planet came into view. It had been a long, stressful trip. The natur
e of her leaving had not helped matters in the slightest. Despite that, she was glad to be this many light years away from Mars. She was relieved to still be alive enough to be anywhere!

  Even so, that did not stop the anxiety that beset her. She had a big task ahead and she was ill equipped to carry it through. The Diplomatic Corps had said that Nova Zarxa was a tolerant society. Her being an Edal would not be too much of a problem. They were too far from the buffer zone to care much about distant empires, regardless of past conflicts with said empires.

  But en route, Nova Zarxa’s communications had ceased. There was no going back to Mars, however. This was more of an escape and exile than a real mission. Re’lien knew that. For what she had done, this was more than charitable.

  The ice planet drifted closer and Re’lien could make out a few space stations and what seemed to be countless wrecks.

  She gulped. Seemed they had had a war. That wasn’t unexpected. The frontier was dangerous and she had been informed that the Empire of Xank had been focusing their attacks on this system. It was by no means a safe world, but it needed oversight by Mars, as the rumours of the governor’s crimes had become louder and louder.

  Re’lien was to provide this oversight, and make sure that the frontier knew that Mars was there if they needed it. Re’lien finished her destressing techniques and smiled. It couldn’t be all bad. It could be much worse.

  And besides, she had always wanted to tour human space.

  Terra, this could be fun.

  Chapter 31. Glossary

  Swearing (Order of Severity)

  Void – equivalent to hell, a term some humans still use.

  Zot – a scaly rodent, insult used to refer to the untrustworthy.

  Grako – one who has forgotten the face of their father.

  Skite – broad meanings. Typically, a waste product or trash, or a sign of severity.

  Vok – broad meanings. Typically, an adjective to describe the intolerable.

  Vushla – Imperial swearword. Roughly translates to: From all that is the most vokked up, this is more so.

  Dating Systems: Use of the Gregorian calendar is still prevalent but was renamed to the Terran Calendar (TC) at the start of the Armageddon Calendar (AC) which began in the year 2250 TC. Other dating systems used by humans are the Age of the Cape (ACP, 2300 TC) and After Blight (3000 TC).

  Trooper Ranking System: The Troopers reward merit on the field as well as experience in combat. An officer has the power to promote any Trooper to a certain rank in relation to his own. Each rank has a field and non-combat equivalent. The Troopers are ruled over by the High Command, which is made up of officers elected based on merit on the field of battle.

  Trainee – newly inducted into the Troopers, typically on an informal basis.

  Private – general foot soldier.

  Veteran – has fought in a major battle or conflict.

  Corporal – sometimes lower than a veteran; specializes in a particular role on the field.

  Sergeant (within a squad) – leads a portion of a larger squad or more commonly specializes in a particular role.

  Sergeant (of a squad) – leads a small squad of four to fifteen people.

  Lieutenant – leads a specialized squad or acts as a leader within a platoon.

  Captain/Strike Leader – leads a strike team which can contain up to three squads.

  Commander – leads a platoon of up to three strike teams.

  Colonel – leads a force of up to three platoons or acts as an extremely skilled specialist within a task force.

  General (of a force) – leads an army made up of fifty platoons.

  General (of the Council) – Representative or member of the High Command. Engages in galactic wide command.

  High Protector – leader of the Troopers. Elected by Council Generals.

  Tenets of the Trooper Order

  Fight the enemies of mankind.

  Slay the traitors of our race.

  Protect humankind.

  Prepare to live and die for the Order.

  Never slay or harm a fellow Trooper.

  Relish peace, prepare for war.

  Bullets take lives. Skill saves them.

  Pursue the art of our enemies to wreak vengeance upon them.

  Blood and Blight, never forget.

  Races

  Areq – pale aliens with large under-bites. Homeworld of Resh was Blighted beyond repair thousands of years ago. Founding race of the Empire of Xank.

  Edal – blue, pointy-eared humanoids. Commonly thought to be the greatest Warpmancers in the galaxy. Homeworld is Grelaz. Arguably the most powerful race in the Imperial Council.

  Exanoid – mercantile, pig-like species known for their skill in mathematics and finances. Commonly holds positions as Overseers and managers. Homeworld is Eran.

  Gleran – short insect species which reacts to a hive mind. Some individual traits are present, but all goals are determined by a hive mind.

  Gray – peculiar species which natively inhabits many systems and planets across the galaxy. Due to a weak stature and mind, are commonly used as slaves and labourers.

  Human – diverse species primarily inhabiting the Great Terra system. Homeworld was the now blighted Earth. Current capital is Mars. Variety of governments across the galaxy, most prominently the corporations and the Troopers.

  Kragonian – blue humanoid lizards enslaved by the Imperial Council.

  Merka – genetically engineered Exanoids, bred for battle but still more docile than many other aliens.

  Pegg – short aliens with big heads and razor-sharp teeth. They excel at piracy due to their adeptness at anti-gravity combat.

  Squogg – naturally rotund, always masked aliens known for their aggression against humans.

  Ulyx – white, flat-nosed and earless humanoids. Known as great politicians, bankers and philosophers. Homeworld is Mer’lu. The second race to join the Imperial Council.

  Vacaraptor – red, raptor-like reptiles from Grengen.

  Voroz – large grey species with large arms and short legs. Hide is hardier than most metals. Seen as the shock troops of the Imperial Council. Homeworld is Voroz.

  Zangorian – short orange bird species. Homeworld is Zeruit, which was taken by the Empire of Xank. The Zangorian are now used as infantry in the Xank army.

  Factions

  Aegis Corporation - Founded on Mars as a shipping company and has since grown to become the largest supplier of high-end technology and combat utilities in human space.

  Empire of Xank - Empire formed of multiple races found in the Outer Reach, beyond the Central Space frontier.

  Ganru – a syndicate of Asiatic gangsters dedicated to uplifting their race’s homeworld.

  Grag-Tec – a corporation founded jointly by Grays and Exanoids after the Glotos III uprising.

  Grooks – a Southern Tundra gang run by Danny’s cousin, Boris Maren.

  Imperial Council - Theocratic empire known for imperialism, totalitarianism and advanced technology; contains many races of consenting or annexed members.

  Marzios – a Mafia-style gang from Galis City.

  The Defiant – a group of rebels made up mainly of Zonian refugees

  The Troopers - Human military order founded on Mars which is devoted to the protection and expansion of human owned space. They are pledged to protect humanity across the galaxy. They hire themselves out to corporations to fund this endeavour.

  Titan Corporation – a mining and arms company.

  Zenites – a violent gang that that sought to annex Galis City.

  Zerian Corporation – a human corporation specialising in cheap commodities and questionable industries. Has since been revealed as Imperial collaborators.

  Planets

  Earth – the human homeworld. Currently Blighted.

  Eran – Exanoid homeworld.

  Glaris Imperia – an Imperial owned human colony.

  Glotos III – the headquarters of Grag-Tec.

  Grengen – a ju
ngle planet and homeworld of the Vacaraptor

  Mars – the Trooper homeworld.

  Nova Zarxa/Resh – an ice world and one of the largest crystal mining planets on the frontier. Used to be the Areq homeworld.

  Sekai – a backwater world made up of humans with similar ancestry that wish to band together for mutual gain.

  Zeruit – Zangorian homeworld.

  Zona Nox – a frontier world in Extos III. Blighted.

  Zuton – Zerian Corporation homeworld.

  Miscellaneous

  Blighting – a method of infecting a planet’s atmosphere with pure warp energy so to prevent it from sustaining life. Blighted planets cannot be terraformed and will eventually grow crystal fields.

  Geradite – an artificial metal.

  Lector – a Xank minister.

  Mozar – cattle.

  Pit-slug – a type of leach that finds its home in sandy areas.

  Warpmancy – the art of twisting Warp energy to ones whims.

  Zot – a reptilian rodent.

  Did you enjoy Rise of the Defiant? Make sure to let me know by leaving a review on Amazon.

  Also, don’t miss other great Warpmancer stories, like:

  Gangs of Galis

  Shipborn

  Outcast of Empire

  And more!