Abducted
The Foremid Saga
Mark Brandon Powell
Guardian Bear Publishing
Contents
About the Author
Free Story
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Free Story
Thanks for Reading!
A Guardian Bear Publishing Book
Copyright © 2016 Mark Brandon Powell
All rights reserved.
About the Author
My whole life I’ve had a large imagination. When I played, with my Legos or running around outside with my friends, it wasn’t just playing. I was in a different place, I was making worlds. I would dream up stories and settings, where I would normally be the lead, or at least be looking through their eyes. Playing video games was a normalcy for the escape into some uncharted and untold world where adventure awaited, which help to fuel my own creations.
Insomnia started to become a problem for me. This was another area that I was able to fill the space with waking dreams, praying that I would be able to get to sleep. It wasn't till I met my wife in July 2011 that I really started to contemplate what I wanted to do with my life. She was able to show me how happy I could be, just by coming into my life. So I figured that I could, and should, do that for my professional life.
I started to read more books. I had been a visual entertainment consumer for much of my life, even though most of my gaming consisted of role playing games, of a heavily text base nature. Not having the visual feedback was a different feel. I liked it.
It wasn’t until after reading a few self-help books and watching - of all things -‘Sister Act 2’ (the part about what you want to be) that I started contemplating what made me happy and how I might be able to turn that into a career. In August of 2012 I had a long conversation with my wife, who was supportive of the idea, and I started to write.
My first book was finished and self-published in 2012. From there it’s all history.
Want to find out even more about me?
Markbrandonpowell
www.Markbrandonpowell.com
[email protected]
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1
Kat palms two newly crafted Divinity shells Wrath just finished in her right hand. They don’t look any different or have any discernible markings from the Flare or Meteor shells besides the roman numeral four etched on the tip of the bullets. This was the first time that she has been able to hold one of these bullets. The last few times she’s had to use them it was in the moment, and there wasn’t any time to look at them, or even care to look at them. She now has six Flare shells each with the number three etched into them, and three Meteor shells which have the number two etched in, on the table next to her.
In her other hand she has one of the glass spheres that Hanna’s been collecting in secret. It was about the size of an orange, and inside is a three dimensional symbol that she doesn’t recognize. It looks like a rectangle with each corner turned into a spiral, as if it was laser cut into the center. It meant something but since it came out of an alien and the Eydulan language or anatomy isn’t common - or uncommon - knowledge, the meaning is lost. Which she knows it’s important. Like there is the faintest of whispers in her mind telling her that this symbol means something, and it’s on the tip of her tongue. But, she was still trying to get used to the idea that there are humanoid aliens that are harvested for magic, and that there’s a second race of aliens that are trying to do the same to humans.
Knox’s voice comes over the speakers. “Kat, we’re getting close to the coordinates that Whisper gave us. You’re going to want to see this. Or not see this, you just need to come here.”
Kat was half expecting to not find anything out in the middle of nowhere, but she tells him she’s on her way. She gets off the chair, placing the sphere back onto the pile of crystal spheres inside of a wooden chest held together by golden metal. It reminded her of a pirates treasure chest from the movies that Graven keeps making her watch. It even had the oversized lock on the front that fits a skeleton key. The skull on the key even has fake emeralds in the eyes. It did however have a current century biometric scanner on the underside of the skull. It wouldn’t open the chest without a positive scan. Hanna did her best to make sure it was safe.
Kat then places the magi-tech bullets into a leather ammo holster Graven made for her while they were on route. There was a small inscription on the inside of it that says ‘To the one whom my soul loves.’ It was a play on an old Christian Bible verse, one of the few that she knew. The holster itself only holds six shells, so she loads two of each, placing the extras into a small box in her locker. Which was now her only locker in the Armory.
Since they embarked on the rescue of Terra, things have been lively around the ship. It was nice having the extra people on board, which was way better than the other way around. She remembers the months spent alone inside the ship like it was yesterday. The echoes of her footsteps being the only other sound. Whisper and Fury might have still been there, but she felt alone. Now the only downside was her feeling at home. She didn’t want the Felicity to feel like a home, just a halfway house. But with Knox, Gale, Hanna, Jack, and Graven all there - making noise - it just felt homey.
Passing through the common area solidifies the assessment of her feelings as the smell of Gale’s cooking fills her nose. It was absolute torture smelling it cook all day long, another reason she went to go spend some time in the Armory. It was the least ventilated room on the ship. She couldn’t smell the bacon and spices stewing into whatever heavenly brew it was becoming. Gale waves, still stirring the pot, and tells her that Knox is looking for her on the bridge. Kat tells her she headed there now, watching Gale taste her food. If she would let her Kat would have volunteered for it, but Gale never lets anyone but her taste the food till its done. She told her a long time ago it was a family tradition. Whatever that was supposed to mean.
Walking onto the bridge Knox is having an argument with Whisper about if this is where the signal was leading them. Graven is in his chair on the right, staring at the display screens, trying to keep out of the argument. Jack is in the chair on the left telling Knox this is the place, pointing at the display in front of him. The spot Whisper was pointing to was between three different solar systems, and there wasn’t even an astroid field there. Only black empty space.
Whisper says, “Finally, someone I can talk to has arrived.”
Knox shakes his head, “You can talk to me all you want, but your not making any sense. There’s nothing out there.”
“Yes there is, just look at the readings. Kat would you please tell them I don’t miss anything.”
Kat crosses her arms, “What are you all talking about?”
Graven says, “We can’t see anything but the signal is coming from this point in space. If
we try to get any closer the collision detectors go off.”
“So you don’t see anything, but something is there.”
“Yea, basically.”
“What are the sensors saying Whisper?”
Whisper says, “From all the readings that I’m getting, its big. Like planet big. I’m calculating close to a few hundred Earth sizes.”
“A few hundred? Then why can’t we see it?”
“My guess would be cloaking. We have a stealth system, but this is alien. Who knows how long they were out here before humans or what kind of technology they had.”
“Well the Guild found them, collected them, and harvested them. There has to be a way into whatever is in front of us. Are there any other signals or channels other than the one we followed?”
“I can check.” Whisper says, clearly upset that she didn’t think about it first.
Knox takes this quite time to get out of the cockpit chair in the middle of the bridge. He grumbles under his breath about it not being made for someone of his size. He was a large man, and almost didn’t fit into the chair. Kat wondered just how he got in it to begin with. She stifles a chuckle as the mental image of him squeezing in before Knox gives her a look, which just makes her laugh out loud.
Kat says, “You know you don’t have to get into the cockpit to fly the Felicity.”
Knox grunts, “Maybe.”
“Whisper can do all of the flight coordinates, and you can just sit on the side like where Graven or Jack is. I bet that would be more comfortable for you.”
Knox grunts in compliance.
Whisper says, “There is a short range communication frequency that is very faint, but its coming from the other side.”
Kat asks, “How can you tell?”
“Math, you know, that thing you humans are supposed to learn in school.”
Kat sighs. She walked right into that one. “Thanks Whisper. Can you get us to it?”
“Course is already plotted.”
Graven stands up and asks, “Are you sure that’s a smart thing to do? We don’t know anything that’s going on right now and can’t even see what this thing is. ”
Kat says, “I know, but they aren’t expecting us. I’m pretty sure if you had a super planet with a cloak, out in the middle of nothingness you wouldn’t be concerned with uninvited guests.”
“Katrice. Are you sure?”
She walks over to him, placing her hand on his. “I’m sure. Its taken us a week just to get here, and if Terra is still alive, they haven’t gotten much if any time to experiment on her just yet. We need to go now, before they have time with her.”
“I know she’s just a kid, but I don’t want us all to get killed trying to rescue her. I want all of us to come out alive.”
Kat squeezes his hand, “I know. We will be as safe as possible, but you heard what Gizmo said. This whole area is a not just a no fly zone, but a quarantined area. No one is going to be out here but who were looking for.”
It takes the better part of an hour to get around the invisible super planet. Kat waits on the bridge, in the cockpit, trying to catch a glimpse of anything that might come up. If the sensors weren’t telling her the ship was close enough to crash into something, she wouldn’t believe it. The collision detectors were using a form of sonar, but instead of sound it was using light. Every other sensor on her panel couldn’t tell that anything was even there. The only light is from the spotlights on the outside of the Felicity, which look normal to Kat. No ripples or refractions either.
Hanna walks onto the bridge, her arm still in a sling. She had told Kat yesterday that she was starting to get feeling back, and could even move it around a little. Kat was happy about that because things didn’t go perfectly when they made their escape from Ragnarok. She still felt at fault for the whole thing, no matter what Jack, Hanna, or Graven said.
Hanna asks, “So this is the invisible planet everyone is talking about?”
Kat chuckles, “Yea, it looks like a great place for a secret base don’t you think?”
“I personally might turn off the welcome beacon, but that’s a personal choice I guess.”
“We don’t even know what it is yet, but we are almost there.”
“So… Do you have a plan?”
It was a good question, but Kat still didn’t have a solid one. She had been mulling over it for days, but it was still very basic. First there was the Foremid that she had to deal with, which seemed to rank high on the impossible scale. They just took down a heavily fortified and guarded prison with little to no effort. Something she was a little thankful for since it let her and Hanna escape without much effort on there end, but knowing what they’re capable of is scary. Then they were headed off to an unknown location, so there was no way of planning landings or extractions before hand. All Kat was able to come up with was, locate where they were holding Terra, find Terra, and get out. If she had the ability and time to slow down or take out pursuers to do that.
Kat says, “I got a plan, but it’s a little light on the details. Of course we’re all light on the details for everything that’s going on right now.”
Hanna nods, “I know. I wish I had more to, but I already told you everything that I know.”
“I don’t blame you for that Hanna. I just wish there was a way to know. I hate going into things blind is all. Last time I did that I got this.” Kat says rubbing her cybernetic leg.
“Oh, I almost forgot. The reason I came in here is the food’s ready. Gale wanted me to come tell you. She said there is no reason to storm into the enemy stronghold on a empty stomach.”
“That’s Gale for you. Words of wisdom are kind of her thing, besides the cooking.”
Hanna laughs, “Oh, good. I thought she was just trying to be bossy.”
Kat puts on a serious face. “I’m just the captain, she’s the boss.”
They both share a laugh.
2
In the common room the table is set for everyone. Gale already has the food in bowls. Kat sees potatoes, bacon, what looks like hamburger meat, and some vegetables she can’t place just by looking at them. The smell overrides any thoughts that were running through her mind, and her stomach tells her to sit down and eat. Her stomach isn’t normally so forceful, which makes her sit down and listen to it.
Graven comes out of the hallway that leads to the Armory, and he looks pale.
Kat asks, “Are you alright honey?”
He looks over and waves dismissively, “I’m fine. Probably just need some food in my stomach.”
He walks around the table and sits next to Kat, and squeezes her hand. Telling her again that he’s fine. Which meant to her that he isn’t, but if he doesn’t think its anything to worry about than she won’t press the matter. Yet.
Once everyone gets to the table, and has at least one bowl of stew in their stomach, Kat goes over the thin plan she has worked together. Knox and Gale are going to stay behind in the ship to keep it running, everyone else is going to be going after Terra. Jack and Hanna are only there to support, since they are still recovering. Kat adds she would like to do the same, but can’t have Graven do everything alone, and she is the least wounded. Which gets a look from everyone. The gut shot Celeste gave her wasn’t life threatening, just painful, and it was already sealed. It could pop open with strenuous activity, but there wasn’t anyone else that could help Terra right now. She adds that she will bring some medical gel or medi-gel to reseal it if it breaks open.
Graven told everyone he had the equipment all set up, and the only thing they need to do now is find where Terra is being held. Once they do they can drop in at a moments notice.
Jack says, “Graven, the last time you setup my gear for me it was a shit-storm. Let’s hope this doesn’t turn into one.”
Graven laughs, “At least we know it going in this time.”
Jack smiles, shaking his head, “I guess you’re right. I’ll try to keep up.”
Hanna says, “No you won’t. Kat alr
eady said that we’re support. You’re still recovering just like I am. Don’t push yourself until you need to.”
Jack leans back in his chair, offering his arms up in the air as a gesture of surrender. “I won’t.” He then looks over to Graven, “Can’t go against the commanders orders.”
Graven smiles and shoots a quick look over to Kat, “I know what you mean, but mine likes to be called Captain.”
Kat’s eyebrow peaks before giving him a playful glare. She was no where near that bossy.
Fury’s voice breaks the momentary silence saying, “Hey everyone, Whisper has the ship all lined up, we need to get ready.”
Everyone looks at each other, and all nod before heading to their stations. Kat settles into the cockpit, buckling herself in. The harness was something she rarely used, but it seemed like a good idea since she didn’t know what was coming. Graven and Jack follow suit, locking down their harnesses. Kat turns on the all of the coms, asking everyone else to get themselves locked in. She wasn’t expecting a bumpy ride, but would rather be prepared.
Whisper says, “We’re right next to the signal. Would you like me to open the com channel?”
Kat wasn’t quite sure if it was the best idea, but it was the only one they had. “Yes,” she says without the normal confidence behind her voice.
“That was more of a whimper than a battlecry.”
“You know what Whisper, shove it up wherever you don’t want things to be shoved.”
“Now that’s better.”
“Just open the damn connection.”
As she finishes the sentence, there is a break in the empty space in front of the ship. A round indention thirty times the size of the Felicity retracts before breaking into eight triangle shapes. The receding walls reveal a rock filled tunnel filled with orange light. Every few hundred yards there is a metal ring around the inside of the tunnel where the lights are placed. Blue beams lock onto the ship, giving it a good shake. The Felicity’s lights flicker.
Starship Magic 3: Abducted Page 1