Legacy

by Andreas Christensen

  Legacy

  Rift Saga Book 3

  Copyright © Andreas Christensen 2016

  All rights reserved

  Smashwords edition

  Cover design: Yoly Cortez, Cormar Covers, cormarcovers.com

  Editing: John Robin and Katy Farmer, Story Perfect Editing Services, storyperfectediting.com

  This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination, or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, organizations, events or locales is purely coincidental. This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission.

  Legacy

  Rift Saga Book 3

  The Covenant has ensured global dominance, with one exception; Buchanan. The staunch defenders of liberty, who have stood up to the tyrannical Moon people for two centuries, are fighting a covert battle to remain independent, to protect their people from subjugation and slavery.

  Within the Covenant, the rivalry between the different factions is about to take a surprising turn, one that can end the protracted struggle with Buchanan, but at the same time tilt the delicate balance between powers, which has prevented all out war so far.

  Renee, a refugee from the North who has seen her people fall to the might of the Moon people is training to become an intelligence operator. While she wants to serve Buchanan, her adopted nation, she secretly yearns for revenge.

  Evan, the former Janissary Tacticus and newly minted head of one of the most prominent families of the Moon people has to make difficult decisions in order to see his vision through; to set his people free from fear and restrictions, to have them realize their true potential.

  Mark, the Moon people´s foremost advisor, has to take a step back from the main events, and he can only hope this will not result in his becoming redundant. While he fears what will happen while he is gone, he knows he has no choice in the matter.

  Sue, once a hero of the Covenant, has paid a high price for having discovered the secrets of the Moon people. She has lost much of her memory, and has been cast aside to live out her days in her old home town, a life of illness and depression. She has nothing to look forward to, until one night, when a stranger knocks on her door and triggers old memories.

  Dave has found a new life in Buchanan, free for the first time in his life. When events take a dramatic turn, he is stuck right in the center of events, and only he can save the lives of thousands.

  Get ready for the explosive conclusion to the Rift Saga. This time there´s no turning back...

  Chapter 1

  Sue

  "Doctor Hermansen, are those pills absolutely necessary? They give me the worst headaches," Sue said as the doctor held out the small plastic tray with three pills. The doctor looked at her with the stern face Sue had become so familiar with.

  "Susan Atlas, do you want to live?"

  Sue didn´t answer.

  "Do you?" he repeated.

  Sue nodded in surrender. She took the pills, put them in her mouth, and swallowed. Doctor Hermansen was nice enough to offer her a cup of water, and she took it.

  "Seriously though, I cannot go on like this forever. The headaches keep me from working, and I really need to get a job," she said. The doctor cocked his head and regarded her.

  "Susan, I know you´re impatient, but you suffered some serious head injuries. We need to take things in the correct order. First, we need to make sure you don’t suffer a stroke or develop some kind of thrombosis. That’s common among people with your kind of injury, unless treated. Then, we’ll see if there’s anything we can do about the amnesia. We might be able to restore part of your memory, but only if you let your injury heal first. Why are you so eager to find a job? You have your disability, right? Honorably discharged and a decorated Janissary. You have earned full pension benefits! You could live off of that for the rest of your life, if necessary." Sue glared at the doctor. Pension! She was young, and except for the blinding headaches, she ought to be out there doing something meaningful. The doctor ignored her look.

  "Look, I can’t guarantee you´ll get your memory back, but I’m positive you will get better. But you need to heed my advice here. These pills may be the only things keeping you from dropping to the floor like a sack of potatoes, never to wake up again. I think a few headaches are worth it, don´t you?" he said.

  Sue let out a frustrated breath, knowing she wouldn’t get anywhere. Not today.

  "Okay. I’ll do what you say. But please don´t keep me on the meds any longer than you have to. Can you promise me that?" she asked. Doctor Hermansen smiled at her.

  "I promise,” he said. He took out his infopad and opened his calendar.

  "So, shall we say next Tuesday at ten-thirty?" he asked, making a note before hearing her answer.

  "Sure," Sue answered, picking up her jacket and walking out.

  The sun was glaring outside, and Sue squinted. The medicines affected her eyesight, making the sun brighter and visual impressions stronger. She knew it was the precursor to the headaches, so she began walking home. It was only a twenty-minute walk, and the headaches usually didn´t hit until at least half an hour after taking the meds. She’d be able to take the pain for fifteen minutes or so before it got bad enough to knock her out. She’d have time to get settled—that would be as much as she could accomplish today.

  As she walked, she remembered Selection Day, the day she had been selected to serve with the Janissaries to protect the Northern border from the savages that used to live there. Though the memory of most of her Service was gone, she had retained some of her first experiences, such as arriving at Camp Sharpe, and much of her basic training. These were fond memories of friendship and mastering the challenges set out for her. Even her one memory of being in combat was something she treasured, although the thought of the French girl she had killed sometimes haunted her. Still, it was mostly a memory of making a difference. She even remembered meeting Councilor Novak and Head Servant Lunde at the ceremony where she had been hailed as a hero.

  After that, she only knew what she had been told: that she had been transferred to the Westfold Brigade, where she had taken part in a raid and fallen into a trap, leaving her the sole survivor of her team. She sighed, knowing that she had friends in the Westfold that she would probably never remember. That was just part of what she had to get used to.

  She saw a familiar face across the street and nodded her acknowledgement. Mayor Robertson, citizen and former Janissary, was respected by everyone in Charlestown. A stern face couldn’t hide her care and concern for her people, and Sue smiled at the mayor, making sure to hide her true state of mind. The depression was hers to battle alone.

  The mayor nodded back at her, but she looked preoccupied. She had visited Sue when she was confined to the bed, and Sue appreciated her concern.

  Sue sighed as she walked inside and hung up her jacket. Nobody home. Her mother, Beth, would still be at the factory, but she had hoped Jason would be home by now. He was ten, and Sue had begun to appreciate talking with him. He had matured a lot since she had left for Service, and she figured she had changed as well. She walked into her room, kicked off her shoes, and lay down on the bed without undressing. Only one thing to do now: get ready to have her head explode again.

  Dave

  The heavy door slammed shut behind him. Dave stood for a moment, hesitant to approach the young auburn-haired woman sitting at the table in front of him. She was physically restrained, of course, and they were being monitored through a one-way mirror off to the side. Armed guards would storm in immediately should anything happen. Dave took a step toward the woman, and she looked up sharply. He stopped. Those eyes were a mixture of fear and hate, so intense they seemed to sear
through him. He knew she’d kill him in an instant if she could.

  He looked over at the mirror, almost pleading for someone to come and relieve him. All he wanted was to turn around and walk out the door. But he couldn’t. This was his responsibility. She was his responsibility.

  She had been his friend, and he couldn´t turn his back on her, especially not now.

  "Liz, I know you don’t remember me," he began. Her only response was a low growl, but he continued.

  "Do you think I’m a monster? Do I look like one? Does my voice sound monstrous?“ he asked.

  It was as much a reminder to himself as it was an attempt to communicate with her. He had seen the effects of Bliss first hand. He had experienced what it could do.

  He pushed the memory away.

  "Can you hear me? Do you understand anything I´m saying?" he implored. She didn’t respond.

  He shook his head sadly, took the chair, and sat down opposite from her, careful to keep outside of her reach.

  Dave Wagner remembered a day not so long ago when everything had been different. How long ago could it be? A year? A year and a half?

  They had been raw initiates back then, entering a world completely different from what they were used to. He had changed so much since then, and thinking about the innocent boy who had stepped off the train that day made him sad. And yet, he wouldn’t change it even if he could because it was all a lie.

  They had been trained in everything from medicine to weapons, listened to lectures on history, economy, and physics. Little by little, they had been told their task, their exalted mission: to keep the Covenant safe from the horrors that lurked outside their borders. To make sure the diseased and mutated monsters from the far side of the Rift never made it through and to stop them by force if need be.

  And they had.

  Liz was the first to go from initiate to full Warden when she was singled out for ranger duty. She was a natural: strong, fit, and clever. But when she returned from her first mission, she had changed. Dave never really spoke to her after that, but later, after his own combat debut, he began to understand what she had gone through. He had fought monsters, and the medicines he had received to protect him from disease brought by the monsters had some uncomfortable side effects. At least, that was what he had been told.

  In reality, he and his teammates had been drugged and set up in order to have them kill innocent refugees who were trying to cross into the Covenant from their wretched existence in the Dead Zone, just west of the Rift. He hadn´t remembered anything, and if not for one of his teammates who had discovered the fraud and was killed for it, Dave wouldn´t have had any reason to doubt what he had seen.

  He shivered at the thought.

  The monsters had been real. A combination of drugs and goggles that showed only what you wanted them to show had made sure of that. He had no reason to doubt any of it until he saw the truth—until Counselor Mark Novak told him where to find the truth.

  So he understood what Liz Sidnell was going through.

  After the escape from the Wardens with Sue, they had split up deep inside the Corpus lands, and Dave had managed to cross the Belt north into the Covenant. It had cost him a leg, but after reaching Charlestown, Mayor Robertson had taken him under her wing and secured the best medical treatment for him. After a few days of rehabilitation and learning to use his new artificial leg, Dave had crossed the Rift in an airship that was shot down by a scramjet, but not before he had bolted out, parachuting safely to the ground. Shortly after, a team of Wardens had captured him to bring him back into the Covenant, but a team of Buchanan rangers stopped them just before crossing the Rift.

  Dave had finally reached the safety of Buchanan while Liz, the only surviving Warden, had been captured.

  Now they sat opposite each other, and Dave began to wonder if she would ever have her memories restored or if they had drugged her into a state of permanent amnesia and psychosis.

  "What," she began, breathing frantically.

  "What are you?" she wheezed. She recoiled from his presence, paralyzing fear apparent in her green eyes. Dave felt the knot in his stomach tighten. It wasn´t fear anymore. It was pity.

  Mark

  Mark Novak had never been so tired in his life. He was beginning to feel the effects of old age, and it frightened him. Not that he was afraid to get old, but he had so much to do. Time was beginning to run out. His joints were bothering him, his stamina was getting worse every day, and his eyesight was worsening. As long as his mind didn´t fail him.

  He knew all too well that he should have taken the treatment a long time ago. Head Servant Lunde had said so time and time again. But Mark didn’t trust Alexej Lunde to cope with everything in his absence, which could last for months. Besides, there were things his old friend wasn’t supposed to know or have to deal with.

  He was sitting alone in the big meeting room where the members of Luna Council were to meet in a few minutes, and he had more important things to consider than his own health. Soon, the heads of the great families would enter to discuss the recent developments. At the top of the agenda were the questions of where the stellar object had gone, and, of course, Buchanan. For several months, there had been a standstill in negotiations, and tensions had run even higher after the object had left its Saturn orbit.

  In the last few months, military forces from the Covenant had captured several of the major settlements around the globe, including the Africa Highlands, Europa, and Eastern Siberia. Most had submitted freely, and only the Africans had given them any resistance worth mentioning. Two hundred dead Janissaries would be considered a low price to pay for securing the third largest human settlement on the planet. Of course, it was nowhere near the size or capabilities of Buchanan or even the now-conquered French of the North, but geographically, the conquests made the Covenant a true global power. Some said it proved that the Moon people had a birthright to Earth, but none of the council members were that stupid. All it proved was that the Covenant was militarily superior to every other settlement—except Buchanan. And sooner or later, the pressure to go to war with Buchanan would be too strong.

  Mark had to stay sharp. He didn´t intend to let the Moon people win, and with Alexej as Head Servant, Mark was still on top of things, even with his deteriorating health. But there would be pressure to replace his friend if some of the more militant factions became stronger, which would make it much harder for Mark to complete his plans. He might even be booted off the council, something unheard of previously. Mark felt his mortality creeping up on him now, and perhaps others sensed it, too. Times were about to change.

  The first to enter was Head Servant Lunde, followed by First Janissary Ivanov, Strategos Janev, Dr. Johansen, Stanov, Petrovic, Borge, and all the heads of the great families of the Covenant. Only after the others had settled did Evan Hordvik enter. All eyes turned to him, but Evan found his place next to Alexej and sat down without a word.

  "Welcome, welcome," Alexej began. "I take it we don’t need a long introduction. We have a decision to make.”

  All eyes turned to Evan again, but the young man’s face remained blank. First Janissary Ivanov stood up and addressed the room.

  "We want a tougher stance on Buchanan. We have all heard of the starship, and we know where it’s coming from. We’re running out of time," Ivanov said, earning a few nods from some of the others before he continued.

  "If we don’t move soon, they might side with Buchanan, no matter our latest conquests. Buchanan is, as we all know, the only thing that stands in our way. I say it’s time to do something about that." That earned him more nods and a few assenting voices. Lunde held up a hand and motioned for Ivanov to take a seat.

  "The Covenant has more than doubled its territory in less than a year. The Moon people have to share more of our privileges with the English, who have stood by us, served with us, and sacrificed with us. Our forces are stretched thin, and the North remains unstable. We kicked their butts in the war, but even though they don�
�t control territory, the French partisan groups are a nuisance. Last week, they managed to assassinate Sub-Strategos Olsen, and they attacked the Eastfold airfield the week before, taking out seven airships before an orbital platform managed to blast them into oblivion. We won’t have proper aerial coverage in the African province until the new satellite launches next month." Lunde paused for a moment and took a sip of water.

  "What I’m saying is that we’re not ready. Once we commit to a full-scale attack on Buchanan, we’d better be ready because only one of us will remain standing. Us or Buchanan."

  Ivanov was about to speak again, but Mark motioned for him to wait. Even though he and Ivanov often stood on opposite sides, Mark commanded the respect of everyone in the room. Mark Novak, the oldest man in the world, the one who had seen the Fall, the one who remembered the world before, and the one who, through his actions during and after the Fall, had helped pave the way to Moon people superiority. He had earned the respect of the master race, even though he wasn’t one of them. When he spoke, everyone listened.

  "Head Servant Lunde is right,” Mark said. “We are not ready. If we attacked today, we would face a lengthy war. We are stronger in many ways, but the outcome of a protracted war could go either way. Even the remaining French still put up resistance, and we crushed them in 48 hours!

  Buchanan needs to fall in hours, not days. One strike needs to determine the outcome, or we face nuclear missiles falling on us. Even though our orbital assets have been upgraded in recent years, we still won’t be able to take out every threat as we stand right now. Remember, if even a single missile manages to penetrate the aerial defenses, it may mean the end of Legacy or an entire army. Whichever it targets." That got their attention, he thought, as a coughing fit made him pause. No one else spoke, so he caught his breath and continued.