by Jay Allan
Harmon had reacted quickly and, without hesitation, she’d launched a fresh round of nuclear death on Stark’s bases and heavy concentrations of Shadow Legion soldiers. Then Cate Gilson had led the remnant of the Corps and the Janissaries down to the surface to track down the survivors. The battle had raged for three months, and when it was done, the Shadow Legion armies were gone, and the Marines and the Janissaries were shattered remnants, wispy apparitions of the massive fighting forces they had once been.
Earth was a radioactive ruin, and its people faced an arduous struggle for survival, but at least their future would be their own. They would have no master, no creature like Gavin Stark or Rafael Samuels to rule over them. Cain valued freedom like a precious gift, but he wondered how the people of Earth would feel, scavenging for food, fighting to stay warm, dying for lack of basic medicines. Would they prize the freedom the destruction of the Superpowers left behind?
They would suffer unimaginably in their struggle to survive, and it would be generations before there was any substantial recovery or rebuilding. The Superpowers were gone, destroyed by their own corruption and folly. The politicians who had ruled the people were dead or scavenging in the same wasteland as those they had once ruled. Cain suspected the starving refugees wouldn’t take long to turn feral, and anyone who had held power in the old system would be in grave danger if their identity became known.
But for all of Earth’s suffering, mankind had another future, one among the stars. Humanity had stretched its hand out into the galaxy, and on almost a thousand worlds, new civilizations grew. Some of these were tiny outposts on the fringes of explored space, others substantial colonies beginning to celebrate their first centennials. They faced enormous challenges ahead, but also great opportunities.
Would these worlds learn from Earth’s mistakes? Would their people avoid the tragic errors their ancestors had made? Or would they tread down the same dark path, selling their freedom cheaply to politicians and power brokers who lie to them and tempt them with empty promises of security?
Cain didn’t know the answer, but he tried to suppress the doubts he felt. He wasn’t an optimist by nature, but for once, he wanted to be. He longed to believe humanity could learn, that they could truly appreciate freedom and embrace it above all things. But he just wasn’t sure.
Erik Cain had unlimited confidence in a select few friends and allies who had proven their worth through years of fire and death. But he had no faith in most people, nor in mankind as a whole. He’d seen the consequences of humanity’s choices, the cost good men and women had paid again and again.
In his heart he feared men would make the same mistakes again. These new colonies, now so optimistically embracing the future, would eventually begin to fight with each other instead of growing together. Democratic governments would give way once again to entrenched political classes, and the people would live their lives in willful ignorance. They would trade their freedoms willingly for empty promises of protection, and in so doing, they would ignore the deadly threat to liberty until it was too late once again.
Cain looked through the porthole one last time at the world of his birth. The holocaust wasn’t apparent from space, but he knew what was happening down there, the billions dead, the millions more wandering through the nightmarish hell their world had become.
It wasn’t just radiation Earth’s survivors faced, but virulent plagues and huge areas contaminated with toxic chemicals. Earth’s Superpowers had unleashed every fearsome weapon they possessed during their flailing death struggles. Thousands more would die each day, succumbing to radiation sickness, disease, starvation. It would be years before the hell that had been unleashed receded, probably decades. The human suffering that would occur over those years was incalculable.
Cain stared at the deceptive beauty of the blue planet below, and he imagined what it was like to be down on its scarred surface, amid the suffering and desperation. For an instant he thought he should delay the departure, go down there himself to see what man’s folly had wrought. But he shook his head and turned slowly away. Earth, whatever it had become, was his past, and he had time only for the future.
Chapter 34
Tangled Vine Inn
“The Cape”
Atlantia – Epsilon Indi II
The sea air was blowing across the rocky beach, carrying with it a heady mix of pine trees and the scents of the ocean. Erik walked slowly down the beach, enjoying the cool water washing over his bare feet. Sarah was next to him, brushing back her hair, wild and frizzy in the salty air.
They had come to Atlantia years ago, before revolution had swept the Alliance’s colonies and launched them into more than a decade of almost non-stop warfare. Of all the places they had been, the rugged coastline of this idyllic world had called out to them both, and they had decided to make a home there.
Though they had both retired from active duty, they had other responsibilities, and they spent no more than half the year on Atlantia. Most of the rest of the time they were on Armstrong. Cain still had duties at the Academy, teaching to the vastly shrunken class of new cadets. Most of the old campus had been destroyed in the war against the Shadow Legions, but the few remaining buildings had been adequate to serve the needs of a vastly shrunken Corps.
Sarah was a director of the vast Marine hospital, now in the process of opening much of its unused space to serve the needs of the growing city of Astria. The damage from the fighting on Armstrong had mostly been repaired, and the planet and its capital city were growing, stepping up to take its place among the first tier of colony worlds, alongside planets like Arcadia and Columbia.
Cain could hardly believe it had been two years since the last confrontation in the Sol system. The final moments of his battle with Stark had faded to a blur, and the terrible rage and vengeance that had driven him had begun to mellow into a sense of satisfaction over the accomplishment. He still had nightmares – he suspected he always would. But he’d also found some peace…and contentment. He’d always mourn for the friends and comrades he’d lost, but he’d come to realize they would want him to go on, to live his life.
“What time is the ceremony?” He turned and looked back at Sarah.
“In about 3 hours.” She returned his gaze with a warm smile. “We should head back if you want time to shower and change.”
Atlantia’s inhabitants lived mostly along a winding, rocky coast that resembled Earth’s New England, before it had been ravaged by war, pollution, and finally, nuclear holocaust. The planet was as close to a pristine paradise as any world man had found in the vastness of space, and its people tended to move at their own pace. Most of the former Alliance colonies had erected monuments of one kind or another – to the Corps, the fleet, or the individual heroes of the wars. But Atlantia was just getting around to dedicating its own, and General Erik Cain and Colonel Sarah Linden, as the colony’s two most famous residents, were the guests of honor, despite their protestations.
Cain sighed. “Well, they’re not going to let us out of this, so we might as well go get ready.” He smiled and leaned in, kissing her gently. The morning sun was beating down on them, creating just enough warmth in the cool fall air. He wanted to stay right where he was, but he understood duty, even if it had become something far less dangerous and burdensome that it once had been. “Let’s go,” he said, and took her hand as they walked back toward the house.
The statue wasn’t a massive, hulking monument, like so many others he’d seen. It was simple, a little larger than life perhaps, but not inordinately so. It was a Marine, armored and standing at the ready, prepared to face whatever danger threatened.
Cain stared up at it, his eyes fixed on the bright new bronze. It wasn’t a statue of General Holm or Admiral Garret – or even one of him – like so many worlds had erected. Indeed, it wasn’t a general at all depicted up on the small marble pillar, nor even a junior officer. The Atlantians had built their tribute not to the commanders, not to the famous warriors cove
red in glory. They had chosen to salute the common Marine instead, the steadfast warrior who had done so much to buy mankind a chance at a future, paying with their blood more often than not.
Cain took Sarah’s hand in his and he turned to leave, pausing for a last instant and smiling. He had served with that Marine, he thought, and thousands like him. Indeed, he had been that Marine long years before. They were all heroes, those who survived their service to see their own chance at a peaceful life, as he had…and those who’d fallen, the men and women who’d paid the price of freedom. Elias Holm, Darius Jax…and a legion of Marines just like them.
Cain had seen many monuments in the two years following the end of the war, some of them vast and overwhelming. But he decided this was his favorite. A simple honor to the Marines who had stood on the front lines, facing anything that threatened mankind. He stopped and turned back one last time, silently paying his respects to friends lost. Then he turned toward Sarah. He took her hands in his and he smiled. They had made it together, and the future was now.
The Crimson Worlds Saga Continues!
Two New Crimson Worlds Series!
Available Now!
MERCS
Crimson Worlds Successors I
Available NOW
Earth has been a scarred ruin for three decades, its scattered people struggling to survive amid the poisoned and radioactive wreckage of the final war between its despotic Superpowers. But out on the frontier, on a thousand worlds, mankind thrives and grows, building new civilizations and looking boldly to the future. But man has never been able to live in peace, and even Earth’s sad fate has failed to slow the call to war.
Most of the colonies lack the industry and economic power to sustain their own armies and navies, and they look to the mercenaries of the Great Companies for aid in time of war. These futuristic condottiere contract themselves to the highest bidder, and the mightiest strike fear into the hearts of all who opposed them.
Darius Cain is the leader of the Black Eagles, the most renowned of all the Companies. A military genius, he has led his undefeated warriors from victory to victory. The Eagles command the highest rates of any of the Companies, and leaders bankrupt their worlds to pay their price.
But amid the ruins of Earth and on planets all across occupied space there are signs of a greater darkness, a force working in the shadows, waiting for the right moment to strike, to launch a final war to reduce all mankind to slavery.
As Cain slowly uncovers the truth, he must forge an alliance among old enemies, the other Companies his men have fought for years…and the twin brother he hasn’t seen in a decade.
The Crimson Worlds are about to explode into a war that may be mankind’s last.
Into The Darkness
Crimson Worlds Refugees I
Available NOW
Terrence Compton is one of Earth’s greatest admirals, a warrior almost without equal. Alongside his oldest friend and brilliant colleague, Augustus Garret, he and his forces saved Earth from invasion by the robotic legions of the First Imperium’s insane computer Regent.
There is just one problem. The First Imperium was kept from invading Earth by the destruction of the sole warp gate connecting the two domains…and Compton and 300 of his ships are trapped on the wrong side, surrounded by the enemy and cut off from Earth.
Pursued by their deadly enemy, Compton and his fleet must flee into the darkness of unexplored space, seeking a new home. Their journey will take them deep into the heart of the First Imperium, to the silent, windswept worlds where the ancient raced that built the Regent once dwelled…and uncover the lost secrets of their disappearance 500,000 years ago.
The Far Stars Series
Book I: Shadow of Empire
Book II: Enemy in the Dark
Book III: Funeral Games
Just Released: Blackhawk (Far Stars Legends I)
The Far Stars is my new space opera series, set in the fringe of the galaxy where a hundred worlds struggle to resist domination by the empire that rules the rest of mankind. It follows the rogue mercenary Blackhawk and the crew of his ship, Wolf’s Claw, as they are caught up in the sweeping events that will determine the future of the Far Stars.
All four books are available now.
Blackhawk
Shadow of Empire
Enemy in the Dark
Funeral Games
Also By Jay Allan
Marines (Crimson Worlds I)
The Cost of Victory (Crimson Worlds II)
A Little Rebellion (Crimson Worlds III)
The First Imperium (Crimson Worlds IV)
The Line Must Hold (Crimson Worlds V)
To Hell’s Heart (Crimson Worlds VI)
The Shadow Legions (Crimson Worlds VII)
Even Legends Die (Crimson Worlds VIII)
The Fall (Crimson Worlds IX)
Tombstone (A Crimson Worlds Prequel)
Bitter Glory (A Crimson Worlds Prequel)
The Gates of Hell (A Crimson Worlds Prequel)
MERCS (Successors I)
The Prisoner of Eldaron (Successors II)
The Black Flag (Successors III) – Summer 2016
Into the Darkness (Refugees I)
Shadows of the Gods (Refugees II)
Revenge of the Ancients (Refugees III)
Gehenna Dawn (Portal Worlds I)
The Ten Thousand (Portal Wars II)
Homefront (Portal Wars III)
The Dragon’s Banner (Pendragon Chronicles I)
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Table of Contents
The Far Stars Series
Also By Jay Allan
Join my email list
The Shadow Legions – Crimson Worlds VII
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
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Even Legends Die – Crimson Worlds VIII
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
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
The Fall – Crimson Worlds IX
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
&nb
sp; 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
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28