Battleframe (The Mindwars Book 1)

  “What makes humanity special is that we fully appreciate life.” Whizzbang looked down at DG’s body, “and death.” Breaking out of his brief reverie, he continued, “But right now we have an important task to perform. We need to celebrate life by throwing a party for the great victory!”

  A loud cheer went up from all of the battleframe pilots, as the pent up emotions of years of near captivity were suddenly unleashed. From somewhere a violin began playing a jig and pilots began dancing together on servo-assisted legs. Frames smashed against frames and laughter echoed off the surrounding mountains. This was going to be a celebration remembered for decades to come.

  Sitting on an unbroken part of the wall Intellect looked down at Creativity playing her violin for the battleframes. She had energized a Raven battleframe to blend in with the other pilots. No one could play the violin like her and as he watched, the music seemed to encourage the pilots into greater and greater feats of dancing. Some even ignited their jets and began swirling and weaving about each other in the air.

  “She really knows how to play,” said a voice beside him.

  Without looking Intellect answered Wisdom’s statement, “She certainly does. So what do we do now?”

  Wisdom removed his spectacles and began to clean them on a cloth from his jacket pocket. “We really can’t interfere as yet. They need to become accustomed to their new abilities before we can introduce the next level of training.”

  Intellect nodded in agreement. “I just hope that they have time.”

  “Stop worrying Intellect. They’ll have time.”

  “Have they detected the Scourge reinforcements as yet?”

  Wisdom patted the younger man’s shoulder affectionately “No they haven’t but I have confidence that they’ll overcome them. In the meantime, let’s enjoy Creativity’s moment.”

  “But….”

  “No buts Intellect,” Wisdom interrupted. “Whizzbang and the other Earthmen need time to recover from DG’s loss.”

  “I wish there was some way he could have been saved.”

  “You looked at every causality and it was clear that the Earthmen needed to experience real loss before they could develop further.”

  “I know that Wisdom but he was so…,” Intellect drifted off.

  “Alive?”

  “Yes, that’s the word. He was so alive. I wish we could have intervened.”

  Wisdom nodded as he placed the now clean round spectacles back on the bridge of his nose. Thought of DG’s death caused his blue eyes to briefly well with moisture before he banished it. Sighing deeply Wisdom said more to himself then to Intellect by his side, “I will miss him.”

  “I will miss him too,” Intellect echoed.

  Below them, Creativity played notes so quickly that they seemed to merge into one another. Around her pilots were completely caught up in the reckless abandon of celebrating their victory. Finally, with horsehair hanging from her bow and sweat beading her forehead she reached a crescendo in the music. After a brief pause, while the pilots cheered and clapped she struck up another tune.

  Wisdom said in wonder, “She really is very, very good.”

  “Just like they are.” Intellect indicated Whizzbang and Bosk as they quietly left the celebration. “Are they going to be able to pull them all together? The fate of the galaxy is on their shoulders.”

  “I really don’t know but both their lines are as pure as we could make them. They are the galaxy’s only hope.”

  An hour later Whizzbang found himself sitting on a rocky ledge overlooking the Scourge fortress far below. From his vantage point, he could see why there was little resistance after the two Barrier towers had collapsed to either side of the command dome. The devastation they had caused as they fell was complete. Where once there were buildings, barracks and training yards, nothing recognisable remained other than the huge command dome itself. “The same dome DG had died within,” he thought sadly.

  The sudden gust the wind whistled through the rocky outcrops around him. In the distance, he could make out a new tune played by the violinist and could not help tapping his foot in time to the music. “She could really play,” he thought to himself.

  The wind shifted and again he could hear the violin but this time it seemed to be tugging at his heart. The melody echoed his own mourning at DG’s death while simultaneously healing and washing away much of the pain from the loss.

  Looking down at the celebrations below Whizzbang felt so alone, he desperately needed Esther. He needed her love, her support and more than ever he needed her to tell him that everything was going to be OK. After holding them back for so long, tears poured unbidden down his cheeks as he shifted his gaze to the mountain ranges opposite. The snow-capped rugged peaks dropped away into green valleys and in a few places, he could see a river winding its way between them. It hurt to cry but letting go his emotions on the privacy of the ledge made him feel a lot better for it.

  “I thought I’d find you up here,” Bosk’s familiar voice said behind him.

  Whizzbang did not bother wiping his eyes in front of Bosk. He simple answered, “Where else would I be?”

  Bosk settled in next to his best friend and together they enjoyed each other’s company in silence as they stared off into the distance. Finally he said, “I don’t know who’s playing the violin but they’re really good.”

  Whizzbang nodded absently. “They seem to be playing what my heart feels.”

  “I know what you mean.” Then gathering up some courage Bosk continued, “You couldn’t have done anything. None of us could.”

  “I know. It still hurts though. I don’t know what I would do if it happened to you or the boys.”

  “Well it hasn’t and as long as we stick together it won’t”

  Whizzbang sighed. “Do you miss the girls?”

  “More than ever.”

  “So what are we going to do next?

  “I’m not really sure but…”

  Behind them two, all familiar voices yelled out to them both, “Dad!”

  With flaming jets Pyro was first to reach his father and was quickly followed by Elzetro. Stumbling over his words in an effort to get them out Pyro said, “Dad, we’ve just had an inbound signal!”

  Bosk turned to Whizzbang. “So it looks like we know what’s next.”

  End of Battleframe

  Book One of The Mindwars

  Register at michaelgilmour.com

  Receive exclusive access to

  Maps of Alpha Three and key locations

  Character profiles

  Future book news

  Discussion forums.

  Glossary

  Acheron Acheron is Selfia’s husband and they were both sent by General Frank McCleod to protect Whizzbang in his journey southwards. Acheron often goes into a berserkers rage when fighting Scourge in his Anvil battleframe.

  Alban General Alban oversees the air forces on Alpha Three.

  Alex The human name of Elzetro.

  Altavia Research assistant to Professor Steinberg.

  Alpha Three The third planet in the Alpha Centauri star system.

  Anvil The Anvil is a close quarter’s combat battleframe that is armed with a light-weight mini-gun that fires a rapid stream of tiny tellurite slugs. It has considerable amounts of armour that protects the pilot during hand-to-hand combat. Acheron enjoys this battleframe as it provides him with a large amount of firepower and a high level of armour if he gets into a difficult situation.

  Bardon General Bardon oversees all of the ground forces on Alpha Three.

  Barrier A field of force generated by the Scourge that is death to any humans caught within it. Prior to the barrier being fully deployed the Concord managed to build a series of repulsor cannons that push it back from a small area of the planet.

  Battle-pod A Scourge device that allows the warping in of a fist (normally five) warriors to a location every five minutes. Battle-pods are black and shaped like an upright pyramid with an energy orb at
the apex.

  Bosk Bosk is Whizzbang’s best friend since childhood and is a specialist Raven sniper.

  Comnet The comnet is the wider communications network used by the Concord. The local or localnet is the communications network that battleframe squad members talk to one another over short distances.

  Creativity A member of the elder race.

  DG DG is also known as digital gangster and is one of the earthmen in Whizzbang’s squad. He typically fights in a Rook battleframe.

  Dreadnaught The largest Concord battleframe that has ever been developed. It has a massive level of armour and is armed with a super-heavy chain gun. Pyro is one of the few battleframe pilots that can effectively manage the weight of the Dreadnaught.

  Eagle-claw A specialist recon battleframe that has stealth capabilities while being lightly armoured. Pilots of this frame typically use a bolt-action long-barrelled rifle that shoots a depleted tellurite slug at high velocities. Selfia enjoys the freedom of this battleframe as it allows her to survey an entire battlefield and fire at targets where it can be of the most use.

  eport An emergency teleport or eport occurs when a battleframe determines that a pilot is on the verge of death. The pilot and battleframe are instantly teleported to the nearest Concord stronghold for emergency services. The potential downside to eporting is that it can be psychologically traumatic, leaving some pilots in a vegetative state.

  Elzetro Elzetro is Bosk’s son and the best friend of Pyro. His preferred battleframe is a Rook.

  Engie Concord slang for a Scourge Engineer. These warriors can hack into Concord systems and launch probes for scouting enemy locations.

  Esther Esther is Russell’s wife and a former nurse. She is the mother of her son Pyro and daughters Michelle and Rose.

  Evkon 316 Developed a number of years ago Evkon 316 is the best pain blocker that the Concord has ever developed. Evkon 316 blocks the majority of the pain that a traumatised wounded pilot with otherwise experience.

  Felesh General Felesh overseas all Concord intelligence operations on Alpha Three.

  Freehold The second largest Concord base on Alpha Three. Situated on the side a hill, it overlooks the ocean and pristine beaches. Built like a resort, the base even has thatched huts and bars for providing rest and recreation for pilots.

  Gardner Gardner prefers to be guarding tellurite mining Diggers but is known as one of the most stealthy pilots in the Concord.

  Grendig General Grendig commands all Scourge forces on Alpha Three from the security of his command dome.

  Happy Whizzbang’s friend that warns Concord Central on Alpha Three of the impending Scourge attack. Happy is a close friend of Whizzbang and pilots a Rook battleframe.

  Intellect A member of the elder race.

  James The human name of Pyro.

  Jug Concord slang for a Scourge Juggernaut. They are a heavily armoured battleframe that carries a portable plasma cannon for offensive armament.

  Kaladon IV The fourth planet out from the sun of Kaladon and the birthplace of the Concord.

  Kheldar Kheldar is one of Whizzbang’s squad members and fights using a bio-battleframe.

  McLeod Franky, Frank McLeod is a General in the Concord armed forces and coordinates all activities on Alpha Three.

  Mihaly The human name of Bosk.

  Nanites Tiny programmable machines that manipulate tellurite to build battleframes and other structures. If a battleframe receives damage during a battle then like a living organism, nanites will work at repairing damage.

  Nanomeds Nanomeds are microscopic machines that are automatically injected into a wounded pilot’s body by their battleframe. Nanomeds heal the pilot at the cellular level so that they are always at their peak level of health.

  Ogzmat A Scourge facsimile of a human used for infiltrating and spying on an enemy.

  Plasteel A blending of hi-tensile steel and polymer plastic. It is one of the most versatile materials developed by the Concord for off-world colonization.

  Pyro Pyro or Pyromaniac is Whizzbang’s son and best friends with Elzetro. He prefers using the largest and most powerful Concord assault battleframe known as the Dreadnaught.

  Raven A type of reconnaissance battleframe that is preferred by both Whizzbang and Bosk. It is lightweight, low armoured and highly stealthy. The typical weapon used by Raven pilots is the Charge sniper rifle that fires a concentrated high intensity energy beam.

  Ray Story name of Whizzbang.

  Rex The Rex is one of the most powerful Concord heavy assault battleframes and is only second to the Dreadnaught. As well as being hugely armoured the Rex fires a heavy chain-gun that packs an enormous recoil. This is Tiny’s preferred battleframe.

  Rook A popular battleframe that has a medium level of armour and a lightning gun for offensive purposes. The unique feature of the Rook is that it can deploy a number of anti-personnel turrets. The Rook is the preferred battleframe of Happy, DG and Elzetro.

  Russell The human name of Whizzbang

  Scourge The Scourge are a race of pale skinned, pink-eyed humanoids that are completely ruthless and never take prisoners. Like Concord pilots, Scourge infantry have a number of different battleframes that empower them in a variety of ways.

  Selfia Selfia recently married Acheron and is the brains of the two of them. She pilot’s an Eagle-claw battleframe and quickly rises through the Concord ranks to become a squad group leader.

  Shock Concord slang for a Scourge Shock Trooper. They have medium armour and fire the equivalent of an assault rifle.

  Slayer A Scourge Slayer is often armed with a light machine pistol but typically uses a tellurite crystal dagger in close combat.

  Snipe Concord slang for a Scourge Sniper that is similar to a Concord Raven other than they fire a ruby coloured laser.

  Starblade Almost mythical nemesis of the Scourge.

  Steinberg The father of nanite and nanomed technology that allowed the development of the modern battleframe.

  Tellurite A crystal that can be converted to malleable energy and then back into crystalline form. Malleable energy is manipulated by nanites to build almost any structure and is the basis of Concord technology. All battleframes are built and powered from tellurite.

  Thomas Story name for Bosk.

  Tiny After an initial confrontation with Whizzbang at Freehold, Tiny has become one of Whizzbang’s staunchest allies. He’s known for smoking acrid cigars and has an almost toothless grin. Tiny, pilot’s an Anvil battleframe.

  TransWarp TransWarp’s are similar to larger portable battle-pods. When deployed they can warp in up to twenty Scourge warriors at a time.

  Whizzbang A battleframe pilot that was initially the concept of the Concord Blue Sky research program. After losing his parents to a Scourge attack Whizzbang focused his life on becoming the best sniper in the Concord. It is later discovered that Russell truly brought Whizzbang to life.

  Wisdom A member of the elder race.

  Wrist-comp Built into every battleframe, a wrist-comp allows the pilot to connect to Concord control interfaces.

  About Michael Gilmour

  Born in Melbourne, Australia Michael founded his first business when he was just 16 years old. After completing his BSc in electronics and computer science, he continue his entrepreneurial career and has founded many Internet startups over the past 25 years.

  In 1998, Michael completed his MBA and served as a director of the prestigious Australian Internet Industry Association, the last two of which he was elected to the position of vice-chairman. As a member of the board, he contributed to forming industry policies for, cyber-crime, copyright and chaired the committee for establishing the online advertising standards for Australia.

  For the past 8 years, Michael has been growing his domain management company, ParkLogic, and now has clients the world over. He is a regular industry commentator via his blog and is a highly sought after speaker at global industry events.

  Michael has always had a desire to write his own novel. I
n his early teens, he would arrive home from school and head straight to his bedroom to enter the fantastic worlds created by authors like Tolkien, and Herbert. He would often get engrossed in the adventures long after his official bedtime and read by the hallway light, much to his mother’s displeasure.

  Given his Internet career, Michael took his first tentative steps towards his goal when he wrote a series of episodes for a gaming website he was developing. Two years later, he completed his debut novel, Battleframe, which is the first book in The Mindwars series. He is currently working on book two in The Mindwars and is looking forward to the adventures that lie ahead.

  Michael is married to Roselyn and she has become hist first port of call for editorial advice. His three children are also reading his novels and have been an enormous support on the journey.

  Michael regularly blogs on michaelgilmour.com and has provided a host of material on his books that is freely available to registered readers.