by T S Paul
“Alpha! We have an intruder in the computer core!” The Gamma tech kept his eyes firmly on the deck.
“What? Stop it! Engage the watchdogs.”
“We have Alpha. That is how we know, they set the alarms off themselves.”
“Is it a hacker of some kind?”
“We don’t think so. It looks like a worm of some kinds. It entered through the security system in the hangar bay. I think the shuttle brought it here.”
“Dammit! Alpha 366, what tech did you steal over there? Tell me now!”
“Almost nothing, a few trinkets and a control module of some kind. The Gamma team is working on them now.”
“Gamma 400, activate every anti intrusion program we have. We need to destroy that worm!”
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So they do have protections in here. Wilson was beginning to wonder. It was almost time to go when he spotted something in one of the hidden trash files. Interesting. The Program. Quickly he copied the information and began to make his escape. The navigation system continually sent and received information from public information satellites constantly. That was his way out.
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“Sir, the worm is gone. The system is free of infection. We are scanning for damage now.”
“Excellent. Did the watchdogs manage to kill it?” The Gamma hesitated. They had every exit blocked, it could not escape so the watchdog must have gotten it. “Yes, Alpha. Our programs killed it.”
“Good. Beta 400 did the Gen Mod confirm that Mars has light attack forces?”
“Yes. According to their intelligence Mars only has the ships we see around us.”
“Is the Gen Mod absolutely sure of this information? We have to be sure before I order the attack.”
“He said that they turned a man inside the Primus of Mars own family and he confirmed the data.”
“Excellent. Get to your sections it is time to take what is rightfully ours.”
“Captain Bishe, how much time do they have left?”
“They have less than ten minutes Primus. Shall I alert the system and prepare William Tell?”
“Yes, do it.”
I was watching the screens like everyone else when Wilson finally returned. “Athena! I’m back!”
“Wilson! Did you get into their systems?”
“Please. Look who you are talking to here. Of course I got in. You could have gotten in even with your ham handed skills. They are behind the times.”
“Wait, before you say anything else can you do the cowboy thing on the big screen?”
“Anything for you Athena.”
“Grandmother? Wilson is back and needs to report.” I pointed to the big screen.
Wilson’s favorite character appeared on the screen and he began to speak. “Ma’am, I have the information that you seek. That Earth ship is a piece of junk. The computers are so old Athena could break into them. They may have been technological giants once but compared to the colonies out here they are the farm team. You will find this funny. The Cabal did contact them but did not fare very well. That Alpha spaced them all except a guy named Johann 009 but they call him a Gen Mod.”
Amalie started at the name. “Grandmother did you know this Johann?”
“Once upon a time my dear. Once upon a time. That does answer a few questions. Johann was one of the Captains of the last wave of colony ships. So they were not lost after all.”
“There’s a lot more but they have a big fleet inside that ship and intend to attack you. Some kind of computer, maybe an AI called the Program runs everything on Earth. Clones rule Earth now. Humans are called sapes by them and they use them up and kill them.”
“Wilson dear you bring too many shocks for this old woman today. Do me a favor and download what we need to know and give it to the intelligence section please? A quick question first. What do they know about our defenses? What did the Cabal tell them?”
“They believe that the ships out there right now is all that Mars has. They tortured that Johann guy just to make sure. The Cabal turned a someone in your family who gave them the information.”
“Thank you Wilson.” She turned to Captain Bishe. “The system actually worked. I am amazed that the secret held this long.”
“Yes, ma’am. It was very effective. I will alert our people.”
Dar and I were puzzled. Did Mars have more ships?
“I see the confusion on your faces. When we conceived the defense plan, we needed total secrecy from everyone involved. A series of checks and balances was put in place should a spy try to infiltrate the plan. It has worked for over sixty years successfully. Every time that a ship was retired or sent to the breakers it was actually sent to a secret base out near Jupiter. We have a shipyard there as well. Over the last six decades we have build up a secret defense fleet. The naval element that crews it is secret too. Everything is run from Deimos concerning that fleet. It is the one of the most protected secrets on Mars. The other is Deimos itself. It holds a secret too, one that will be shown very shortly.”
“Primus it is time.”
She stepped up to the main screen and contacted the Colossus. “Alpha this is your only warning. Take that hunk of junk you call a ship and leave Mars orbit right now and we will not destroy you.”
“Destroy us? I think not. We are superior to you and much better armed. Feel Earth's power! Surrender now and I will allow you to live as my personal slave!”
“Primus we have ships exiting the Colossus.”
Up on the screen a swarm of Mark I Starfuries and over a dozen larger cruiser sized ships were pouring out of the Colossus. The Martian patrol ships began to engage the star fighters.
“Captain activate Checkmate and William Tell. May the god of space forgive us.”
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“Alpha 366 activate the hangar bays and tell our ships to attack!” Alpha 364 did not like being talked down to by a dirty sape. He could see what his brother Alpha meant. Maybe he would hold off on the pain amplifier.
“Point defense prepare to engage any ship that approaches us.” He laughed as the four tiny Martian ships tried to engage his fighters. “This is too easy brother!”
“Sir, we are picking up something on the scans. There seems to be a large group of ships on the other side of Mars closing fast.”
“What! Put it on screen.” A long range screen picture came into view. A veritable armada of ships were approaching at maximum speed.
“Epsilon 43 order the fleet to engage that fleet, launch everything that we have!”
“Sir, we are reading massive energy readings on the planetoid below us!”
“What sort of readings? Is it a threat to the fleet?” Gammas need to learn to speak clearly.
“It is an energy of a type we have never encountered before. It is centered on that large military outpost. The reading’s sir! It is some sort of weapon. We recommend evacuation.”
“Delta 004 arrest that Gamma! Take him to the Zeta for punishment. We are superior, we do not retreat from battle! Navigation, take us in closer to Mars. Time for a few kinetic strikes to wake them up.”
The ship had barely begun to move when the mass driver on Deimos activated. The largest weapon system ever built. It rivaled even the Gustav railway gun from Old Earth’s distant past. Massive doors slid open and William Tell fired its first shot. The titanium encased plasma ball weighed over 2000 tons. Each shot took the power units over an hour to charge up. No control system ever built could control something like this shot. It could not miss. Colossus was still parked directly above it.
The ship exploded like a high power bullet hitting a watermelon. It literally exploded in all directions. The explosion took most of the Earth fleet with it. They were too slow to get out of the way fast enough. Chunks of burning ship began to fall downward toward Mars and Deimos. The second part of Mars defense was its civil defense shield. Mars covered its most vital cities and structures with the most powerful planetary shields ever built. The damage was minimal.
; The remnants of the Earth fleet scattered. Many headed toward Earth fleeing to the protection of the space defense wall. Those that could not return home went elsewhere. We would see them again I was sure of it.
Chapter 20
The destruction of the Earth ship changed things for Mars. The galaxy now knew that they were a planet to be reckoned with. Many revelations came from the attack. Earth was the enemy of everyone. Natural born humans were a threat, and they intended to wipe us from the galaxy. The Cabal was ignorant of this fact. Those few agents who witnessed the destruction of the Colossus reported back and were ignored. Their reports were called propaganda and useless.
A new Earth Empire rose from the ashes of the old one. The Cabal now controlled over seventy percent of the former Empire. They ruled not from the shadows, but in the light. No longer would they hide. Earth and the UN once again ruled the galaxy. Or at least their small part of it. The Cabal was still plotting and planning. Earth was mighty. The loss of one ship was nothing to her. On Mars we knew better.
Wilson’s report shocked the Martian Assembly. The war they had long feared had come and Mars was victorious in the first battle. But there was more to come, and they needed allies in the fight. I got to play my part and as Ambassador to Mars signed a treaty joining the fate of millions to them. Mars was now a part of the PPL and at war with Earth and the former Empire. Hopefully the Gods would be on our side this time. Ramen.
Authors Notes
Wow! Another book in the series is done. The Story in my head is progressing really well. Expect that the current loop will end in book 9 with the new Earth Empire facing off with the Pan Pacific League. Our heroes will be right in the thick of all. Looks to be lots of fun to write too. Next up is the start of something new. A new series bursting from the middle of the old one. Lots of familiar faces including Athena Lee and Wilson. This will be about Ensign Tisiphone. We met her back in Insurrection (book 6). Most recently she popped up in one the Wilson’s Wednesday stories on the Blog in a very short Cameo. Check that out Here! This series will be about her as she learns how to fight and survive in the galaxy.
Never fear though, there will be a new Athena Lee book at least once a month. And more Wilson’s ever Wednesday. Check out those and more on the Blog.
This book took a bit longer that the others. Too many real world happening intruded upon my fantasy life. Here in Missouri it is really hot in the summertime and when your AC stops working…well you get the picture. Life throws lots of challenges at you and you have to overcome them. So far this has been a good year and I want the rest of it to be even greater.
Here is where to follow me at and maybe drop me a line every now and then.
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I get lots of review both good and bad. The biggest compliant that I receive is book length. I am a new author and while I can write very fast I still have a real world life outside of my computer. The stories that come to me are short, sweet, and to the point. No frills. Many have called them serial novels. Not me. I think of them as a series and each one a complete story. The page counts are listed by Amazon on the page, you have but to look to see. I am sorry if you are not a fan of short fiction but I won’t apologize for my work. Writing is a lot harder than it looks. I also hear complaints about editing issues. I do hear you and the books are improving. I have a small team of 3 editors that double as my Beta readers. They read and correct each chapter as I write it. These are hard working people who help me out of the kindness of their hearts and because they are fans of the books. I thank them every chance I get they are the best. Thanks to the Double D’s and to David from Down Under. I also use Pro Writer Aid in combination with Google Docs as an editing tool.
Just a few of the newest Reviews
Pamela reviewed Wilson's War: Tales from the Athena Lee Universe
Fun stories about Wilson June 17, 2016
I always wondered why Wilson wanted a cat. Now I know why. :) If you like the character (which I do), then check out this book.
Amazon Customer reviewed The Martian Inheritance (Athena Lee Chronicles Book 7)
Athena is a wonderful character maintaining her sanity and since of humor while ... June 15, 2016
I am loving this series more and more. Athena is a wonderful character maintaining her sanity and since of humor while being distracted with engineering problems, crazy cabals and a mad AI. I look forward to the next adventure.
D.B. Hull reviewed Imperial Subversion (Athena Lee Chronicles Book 6)
Great June 12, 2016
Simple fact this series has become one of the best I have Read in the past few years. The combination of old and new technology along with well fleshed out characters makes this a series to read over and over again. Lt. Lee's solutions to the challengers presented to her endears her as a character to enjoy trying to figure out the solution..
John Fryer reviewed The Martian Inheritance (Athena Lee Chronicles Book 7)
I really like the main character in this series June 10, 2016
I really like the main character in this series. Although I would prefer for the stories to be longer. Shorter is okay, so long as the wait time between each novel is short. John
Copyrights
This book is a work of fiction, All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Sometimes both.
Copyright (c) 2016 T S Paul
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author.
Cover designed by Michael T. Anderle
Artwork is by Digital Artist Scott Richards Check out his work here.
Editing by Diane Velasquez, Dorene Johnson, David Brims
And ProWriter Aid.
All writing was done on Scrivener and Google Docs
Special thanks to Michael and to my wife Heather who keeps me grounded and to Merlin the Cat, we are his minions.
The Series until now.
This is the Prequel for the Athena Lee Chronicles.
Before Athena Lee and the worlds that she knew there was an embattled Earth.
Earth was in turmoil before the first colony ship was launched. The Cyber Wars raged across the planet as country battled country. The war was fought until only the Major Powers were victorious. In the aftermath, the United Nations came into it's own. Warriors, trained and bred to be the best the world had ever seen emerged from the shadows, bringing order and control out of the chaos of the Cyber Wars. Sam was one such warrior. Born and bred to serve he followed his orders and became one of the best pilots in the service. The future of man lay in the stars. Colonization was a good way to rid society of the undesirables of Earth. He volunteered to start a new colony and spread Earth's power.
Now newly revised and re-edited!
Ensign Athena Lee was on her first engineering assignment. She was helping to build a secret space station. There was a war on and this new station was vital. When the engineering fleet was attacked and destroyed she was left lost and alone. When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. She was going to have to Engineer her way home.
Ensign Athena Lee has finally been rescued. The galaxy has changed over the last fifteen years. She finds herself arrested, her rights taken away, and tortured. Political corruption has taken over. Now someone is out to kill her. With assassins and bounty hunters at every corner what is an Engineer to do? Use the right tool for the right job and Fix it!
Athena Lee was is back in the Navy. Her own military forget about her, assassins tried to kill her, her government locked her up and treated her as if she were a terrorist. She is just trying to what she does best. Be the best Engineer in the Galaxy. Now pirates are a threat to her while she searches for the Ghost ships of Terra!
Athena Lee had returned home to her planet of birth. She i
s home to visit the family she has not seen for over 16 years. Her ship the James Cook is there to repair damage caused by the O'Malley pirates.
She finds that her once peaceful agrarian world is overrun with corruption and graft.
Her own family is wrapped up in a daily power play for control of the planet and its resources.
What was a nice family visit has become a trial of wills.
What about the marriage they arranged for her? Oh Hell No!