NORDIC WRATH (War In the Void Book 2)

by Anthony Thackston

  “Since when did dignity include kidnapping?”

  “I wouldn’t expect you to understand.”

  The two men stared at each other. One intent on keeping Mona, the other intent on rescuing her.

  “You turned against your allies. You shoulda got a lot more than you did in a jail,” Irons said.

  “My accused betrayal came only after Earth Fleet betrayed me. I gave those soldiers mercy after what the Ka’traxis Brood put them through.”

  “Save it for the court.”

  “I have already attempted that.” Haddron dashed for Irons and leaping, grabbed his shoulders and flipped himself over. When his feet hit the floor, the fast Nordic used his speed and momentum to flip Irons over his own head. But Irons grabbed Haddron’s arms, tucked his legs and, falling on his back, shoved his feet into the Nordic’s gut. Swiftly, forcefully, he straightened his legs, sending Haddron flying.

  Before reaching the height of his trajectory, the Nordic pressed the lens on his teleporter and vanished.

  Irons had little time to figure out what had just happened before the same flash went off beside him and an elbow slammed into his chest, directly on the wound Elit had left.

  The Captain moved his hands over the spot and gritted his teeth. Even though the nano machines had sealed the wound, it still hurt to be struck on it.

  Haddron went in for another strike but only hit Iron’s arms, which were already blocking the wound.

  Both men rolled away from one another and stood to their feet but Irons was tiring. He was forcing the nano-machines to work harder then they were ever intended to.

  “If you had just taken them, perhaps you would outlast me. I concede the possibility that the upper hand would be yours,” Haddron said. “But as you were in the final hours—”

  “Do you know how many of my people you might have killed?”

  “Such was not my direct intention. Revenge is never a clean matter. There are always casualties. Like any war.”

  “We ain’t at war!” Irons yelled.

  “Of course we are.”

  Naura watched the two men quarrel by both physical and mental means. Both of them giving as good as they got but only one was tiring.

  “The stories of Captain James Irons are true, aren’t they?” Haddron asked.

  “Quit your yappin’.”

  Haddron glanced at Jammin then at Elit, neither of them moving. “The legend of your tenacity and strength is evidenced by your victory over those two. But the legend of your stubbornness is beyond the very words that spoke of it.”

  “Fine. Guess I’ll just have to break your jaw to shut you up.” Irons raced toward Haddron. He might as well have been moving in slow motion.

  As an attacker, Haddron was easier to handle. The quick minded military trained Irons could move from one block to another, countering and striking on his own. But as a defender, Haddron was vastly superior. Since he could see the attacks coming, he was not only fast enough to counter them and deliver those of his own, but he was fast enough to change whatever his original tactic, throwing his opponent completely off guard. So when the Nordic’s head drove itself into Irons, the very fact that he used that part of his body stunned Irons almost more than the hit itself.

  But Irons wasn’t the only one adversely affected by Haddron’s tactic. The Iron Albatross’s hard headedness wasn’t just a metaphor. Hitting such a thick skull was like bashing his own head into a wall.

  Haddron reeled backward, hand on his head, eyes squeezed shut. He tried to block out the flashing lights that filled his vision. He looked up at Irons who was already recovered.

  “You still seeing stars?” Irons asked.

  “The Slagschip will be your tomb. I will bury you in its outer hull, visible to your entire planet.”

  “Careful, Haddron. Your color’s starting to show.” Irons pointed at a darkening spot on Haddron’s head.

  The Nordics were a pale race of people. Haddron touched his forehead and pulled his hand at the pain from the bump above his brow. He looked at Naura who’s eyes widened at the sight of the brown and purple bump.

  Haddron swallowed hard and dashed for Irons but the Captain pressed the lens on the teleporter before Haddron could make it to him.

  The flash of light forced Haddron to shut his eyes to avoid the brightness. He spun around to look through the window, expecting to be fired on by the Lucky Liberty. Instead he was surprised by another flash quickly followed by a solid hit to the jaw.

  Haddron gripped his chin under the pain of Irons’s strike. Another flash and Irons uppercutted Haddron, sending the Nordic man into the air.

  Irons reappeared above Haddron as both men fell. His elbow drove into Haddron’s chest, sending him to the floor faster than before.

  Haddron hit the floor and Irons teleported in right next to him.

  The Nordic man stood, gasping for air. “You…You fight as you did on your ship.”

  “It’s called tactics. Comes in handy when your enemy has the upper hand.”

  “A hard lesson learned,” Haddron said before running to his seat. He leaned down and grabbed his own teleport device. “One I shall make great use of.”

  He vanished in a flash of light and reappeared but not before Irons did the same, just before Haddron could strike him.

  Naura could do nothing but wait to see which one came out on top as both teleported all over the bridge. From the front to the back. The floor to the ceiling. She watched as Haddron would get a hit on Irons before both vanished. Then Irons would get a hit on Haddron.

  The whole bridge was filled with a strobe effect, lighting up the room and casting strange undulating shadows all over the walls and consoles.

  She tried running to one spot, hoping she could catch Irons when he appeared. If she could get hold of him, Haddron could finish the battle quickly. But wherever she went, the two appeared on the opposite side of the room.

  “Jammin, wake up.” She leaned down and shook the larger Nordic. He remained unconscious. Irons must be weakening, she thought. For him to knock Jammin out so quickly and still be battling with Haddron, Captain Irons was more ferocious than she thought. The only reason he’d yet to win over Haddron was due to his strength fading as he exerted himself.

  Irons reappeared near the door to the bridge and scanned the area. The only person he could see still moving was Naura.

  Suddenly, he caught a glimpse of his shadow as if a camera flash went off before a swift kick to the back sent him rolling to the floor.

  Irons struggled to his feet and stumbled forward, weak from all of the fighting.

  “You are cunning, James Irons,” Haddron complimented. “A worthy adversary to be sure. But you use up any time you had left.”

  “I’m still on my feet, ain’t I?”

  “True. But for how long, do you think? Four more hours? And for what? To delay the inevitable?” Haddron walked to his control console and swept his hand over it. A display in front of the window appeared, showing a newscast from Earth.

  “Look at them,” Haddron said. “I am not even one third of the way into ruining your planet’s necessities and already they tear at each other.”

  Irons watched the newscast. Haddron was right. People were fighting in the streets over groceries and merchandise. Fires blazed in destroyed vehicles and some were fighting with no goal in sight. The image of violence switched to that of Wartech Security marching through the street, trying to quell more rioters.

  “You see?” Haddron continued. “Even if you were to win, even if I were to stop my assault, the seeds have been sown.”

  Irons backed up toward the wall and leaned against it. It was becoming harder for him to stay on his feet. “If you surrender, things’ll calm down. Once everything gets back to normal, they’ll stop fighting.”

  “Captain. Your world has twice been attacked by the Ka’traxis Brood and now I have begun my revenge. Do you truly think your world will ever again be normal?”

  Irons kept h
is Cyber Eye staring at Haddron. “Let Mona go.”

  “Look at you,” Haddron taunted. “You cannot even stand on your own and you still make demands. If you had a choice, Captain James Irons of Earth Fleet, to save your world or to save one woman, which would it be?”

  Irons slowly unclipped the teleporter from his belt. Haddron moved his hand just over the lens of his own, ready for another fight.

  “Lucky me.” Irons held the teleporter against the wall. “I don’t have to make that choice.”

  He pressed the lens and the whole ship quaked as the light flashed.

  “Stop!” Haddron yelled. “You don’t know what you’re doing!”

  Irons released the lens and the shaking stopped.

  Naura’s eyes darted around the room, waiting for the destruction she knew Irons’s new tactic could cause as she listened to the creak of the ship.

  “Same thing you did to Mona’s boat. I’m just doing it in space.” Irons pressed the lens again, and again the entire ship shuddered as the teleporter tried to transport the wall.

  “Irons, you’ll kill us all! Even Mona Collins!”

  The realization suddenly hit him and Irons released the entire device.

  “Fool,” Haddron muttered before rushing toward the Captain.

  But Irons was ready and he caught Haddron by the wrist and spun him against the wall. His arm shoved into Haddron’s throat as before and he held him there. “Tell her to go get Mona.” Irons nodded his head toward Naura.

  “Well done, Captain. But how long can you hold me here?” Haddron mocked. “I can tell, your hold is already not as strong as before. So tell me, who truly has the upper hand? Your ship is useless and your body is quickly becoming the same. The only reason you are still standing is because—”

  On the bridge’s display, the image of Earth suddenly changed to another Nordic man. The bridge reverberated with the sound of more chaos.

  “To any and all ships, please respond,” the man’s voice was panic stricken as he yelled over the screaming and explosions behind him. “It appeared from nowhere. Reports of Shugaar falling have already come in.”

  Haddron’s eyes darted from Irons to the display at mention of the city.

  “We do not know how long Erra can last,” the man pleaded.

  “No,” Haddron said. He struggled with Irons and even though the human was weaker, his hold was still strong enough to keep Haddron in place.

  “Did you not hear that?” Haddron asked.

  “I don’t speak Nordic.” Irons pressed a little harder.

  “My world. My people are under attack.”

  “Not buying it. No strategy to it.”

  “No. Please, no!” the Nordic man on the display shouted before he was tackled off screen.

  “Not now,” Naura whispered as a Ka’traxis Brood warrior moved in front of the display.

  Haddron’s eyes grew wide.

  “Slagschip,” the Catter hissed.

  Irons recognized the accent and turned to face the display and the sharp teeth of the Catter. More Ka’traxis Brood warriors chased after fleeing Nordics behind it. The Catter in the display moved whatever recording device was being used and pointed it upwards. Irons snarled and released Haddron who dropped to his own knees, gasping for air.

  The Captain walked to the display and stared at the giant planetoid looming above Erra. It was as big as a moon and already in the upper atmosphere of the planet. Irons could make out a few of the details, though he had never seen them before, he could tell it was clearly artificial.

  “That ain’t a Flagship,” he grumbled.

  “What is this?” Haddron asked. It was the first time he had shown any worry.

  “Ain’t my problem,” Irons told him.

  “My people.”

  “That ain’t my problem either.”

  The display moved back to the Catter. “Slagschip, now!” the Catter roared before turning around and grabbing a Nordic woman.

  Haddron and Naura could only watch as the Catter killed the woman horribly.

  Haddron turned to Irons. “My people are not warlike.”

  “You are,” Irons said, still unsympathetic.

  “A genetic abnormality. The rest of them are not like me. They cannot defend themselves. They don’t even know how.” Haddron stared at Irons,

  The Captain stared back. This wasn’t a trick. The longer the two looked at each other, the more Irons realized just how desperate the Nordic man was.

  “Please,” Haddron continued. “I need your help.”

  “Haddron!” Naura shouted.

  “Why would you protest?” Haddron glared at her. She sank back into herself, avoiding the question. He turned back to Irons. “I do not know what that thing is they’ve brought my world but—”

  “What do I care if Erra gets destroyed?”

  “They are the Ka’traxis Brood. The only reason they have to attack my world is to be closer to yours. Is that not tactical?” Haddron asked.

  Irons stood watching the chaos on Erra. It looked close to the same chaos Haddron had caused for Earth.

  “Please, Captain.”

  Irons looked at the Nordic man, so proud. So sure of himself before. Now reduced to pleading with the very man he put so close to death. Something the Catter Queen needed more effort to do.

  “When this is over, you and me are gonna finish what we started,” Irons said.

  Twenty-Seven

  My Enemy, My Friend

  Syracuse placed a calm hand on Lindsay’s shoulder. “If he was gonna come back, he would have by now.”

  Durham shook his head, not ready to accept it. “We almost lost him once and now we’re gonna be the reason we lose him again?”

  “I have a lock, sir.” Lindsay’s voice shook slightly. The visor covered her reddening eyes.

  “What if it doesn’t work?” Hannah asked. “We’re not even under it.”

  “It’s the only chance we have. There’s no way that thing can be allowed to keep attacking our people,” Syracuse said. “Private Brooks.” He paused, gathering the strength to make the hard command. “I bear the responsibility,” he whispered to himself. “Fire when ready.”

  “Aye, sir.” Lindsay slowly squeezed the trigger, hoping this was the right decision.

  A flash of light filled the room.

  “Hold it!” Durham shouted.

  Lindsay’s hand jerked off the trigger grip. She took the AR visor off and spun around to see Irons and Mona behind the old fashioned steering wheel. The Admiral tried to keep Irons on his feet.

  “Captain!” Syracuse shouted.

  Durham was the first to move toward the former Slagschip occupants when another flash as bright as the first one burst into the room.

  “Haddron!” Sitasha blurted out.

  Durham changed his course toward the enemy Nordic, with Lindsay following close behind.

  “Hold it!” Irons shouted with as much authority as he could muster. It was enough to stop both Privates in their tracks. “That one’s with us.”

  “Sir?” Lindsay asked.

  “It’s true,” Mona said. “There’s massive potential for a much larger problem.”

  “But he’s right there.” Durham pointed at Haddron who only remained silent in the presence of his former enemies. “Boss, we can—”

  “Shut it, Durham,” Irons ordered. “Admiral’s on deck.”

  Mona helped Irons ease into the Captains’s chair.

  “What’s going on, Albatross?” Syracuse asked while keeping a watchful eye on Haddron. “Just a few minutes ago, this guy was trying to blast us to oblivion. Almost did it, too.”

  “I put myself at your mercy and implore you.” Haddron kept his head down, not looking any of them in the eye. “My world is in terrible danger. A danger that will likely spread to your own planet.”

  “Earth is already in danger because of you,” Durham accused. ”What’s he talking about, Boss?”

  “He’s talking about an invasion,�
�� Irons said.

  “An invasion?” Syracuse reiterated. “From who?”

  “The Ka’traxis Brood,” Mona’s voice was flat and factual.

  Confusion filled that air as everyone on the ship spoke over each other, all of them asking questions about the validity of the Admiral’s statement.

  “Quiet,” Irons said, weakly. “Shut it, all a you!”

  The crew did as they were told.

  “You say the Catters are attacking Erra?” Syracuse asked. “What are we supposed to do about it?”

  Irons exhaled and cleared his throat. He clutched his side from the pain in his rib. Its intensity was growing as the nano-machines started to fail. Even the cut from Elit’s knife was beginning to show red again. “Durham, check the armory. We’re going big cat hunting.”

  Table of Contents

  Contents

  Title Page

  Prologue

  One

  Two

  Three

  Four

  Five

  Six

  Seven

  Eight

  Nine

  Ten

  Eleven

  Twelve

  Thirteen

  Fourteen

  Fifteen

  Sixteen

  Seventeen

  Eighteen

  Nineteen

  Twenty

  Twemty-One

  Twenty-two

  Twenty-Three

  Twenty-Four

  Twenty-Five

  Twenty-Six

  Twenty-Seven