The Chronicles of Kin Roland: 3 Book Omnibus - The Complete Series

by Scott Moon

  “Back to the cell,” Kin said.

  Orlan stared. “What?”

  “We need to get out of sight. Do you have a better idea?”

  “Yeah. William could turn into the Imperial high commander, or whatever they call their leader, and order these guards to let us go.”

  William made angry clicking noises.

  “Like he knows what their leader looks like. And it wouldn’t work. Get serious.”

  “When have I not been serious?”

  Kin hurried to the cell and opened it. He motioned for Orlan to lower her, realizing that Raien wasn’t going to cooperate.

  Her eyes went wide. She thrashed and screamed.

  Kin had never heard her scream. She barked orders and kicked ass. She didn’t scream.

  William crouched in the shadow of the nearby battle tank and began to tremble. Orlan put Raien down and turned to fight. The sound of Imperial guards came closer.

  God damn it, Orlan. Kin watched the back of the trooper as the man popped his knuckles, checked his weapons, and edged toward the corner near the approaching guards. Just as Kin readied pistol, William changed, not into the image of the boy who had been part of the Crater Town refugees, but into a pale-skinned child with nearly translucent blond hair. His eyes were gray, his features so smooth it seemed they were waiting to be formed.

  And then he changed again.

  Where the true form of a fourteen-year-old shape changer had stood, a Slomn erupted into the sky. Taller than any serpent man Kin had seen, its scales gleamed like green fire. Smoke poured from between the gaps. The alien face was humanoid, but sleek, full of hate, eyes burning toward the Imperial guards like energy weapons.

  All three guards stepped back and raised weapons but then glanced at each other.

  Orlan aimed his weapon.

  Raien climbed to her feet.

  One of the Imperials was still drinking from a tube, helmet open, amusement in his eyes. “That’s a neat trick. I’ve never seen a Slomn without a radiation warning from my armor. Chadon, sound the alarm. Our prisoner has friends.”

  Raien hurried forward, her stride awkward from long confinement. “Wait. I’m ready to reveal my Fleet Master Codes. But only if we do it right now. Call your commander.”

  The lead Imperial laughed and sipped from his tube. He looked at the others. “Sound the alarm. Summon Commander Hoc. We’ll see what she has to say.”

  “Earth Fleet Mech units are advancing across the valley. Coming in fast and hot.”

  The leader shrugged. “Bout time we killed them.” He faced Raien. “Just to be sure, why don’t you give me your codes now?”

  “No,” Raien said. “I’m not talking to a grunt.”

  “You’ll talk to me.” He grabbed her right arm.

  Raien’s muscular left arm flashed, driving her fingers into the man’s eyes.

  He fell screaming. Orlan opened fire, charging the closest Imperial.

  Kin took the other. Without armor, it was a bad contest. He needed to shoot the Imperial trooper several times to break through. By the time he did that, return fire would cut him down.

  So he aimed at the groin, bending the man in half. Force transfer would hurt, even in armor, but more importantly, the target was in the center of the man’s body. He crumpled from the impact, firing rounds clear of Kin and the others.

  “He said Earth Fleet units were inbound,” Kin yelled.

  “Which direction?” Orlan asked.

  “Take a guess. It’s time to go.”

  They fled through the night, slowed only when William paused to change back into a Reaper. An Imperial trooper jumped around a defensive barrier in that moment. William spread his mandibles and screamed Reaper rage. As the Imperial hesitated, Orlan fell on him, driving him down and turning his head backward.

  Raien stared in amazement. “Holy shit, Orlan, I didn’t think that was possible.”

  “His helmet wasn’t secured. He probably came from the head.”

  They bolted toward the sound of distant fighting, not because it seemed a safe place to be, but because that was where the Earth Fleet mechanized units were making their assault.

  Kin saw Rebecca from a distance, admiring her desperate and unorthodox tactics. She fired multiple weapons systems at once, kicked clouds of dirt and rocks to blind enemies, tackled smaller Imperial troopers that came too close, and turned their weapons back on them.

  She couldn’t win, but she was giving them hell. Imperials were disciplined and fearless, but not accustomed to this kind of berserker rage. Other Earth Fleet units spread out and inflicted terrible damage. Despite the chaos, Kin recognized order in their overall movements. It was a complex maneuver, a series of bounding over-watches, tactical retreats, flanking procedures, and enfilade fire. Death became a dance; one moment choreographed, the next improvised.

  “Move beyond the battle, then signal the Shock Troopers when we’re clear,” Raien said. Despite her words, she lagged behind. Kin tossed her over his shoulder and ran as fast as he could.

  “I should be carrying you.”

  Kin grunted. “I’m not falling into that trap.”

  “I’m hurt, Kin. You don’t think I’m a delicate flower?”

  “You’re a pit bull, and you’re heavy.”

  “I’ll make it up to you.”

  He moved into the first pass, dropped Raien, and gasped for breath. She staggered to Orlan’s side to watch the battle. Rebecca’s Mech unit burst through the opening.

  She opened the enormous helmet and approached Kin.

  “Rebecca,” he said.

  “No time. Take this.” She handed him a small navigation device. “Don’t stray from the coordinates unless you seriously want to die.”

  “What about you?”

  She smiled for an instant. “We have a plan. Randal can’t hold long, so you will just have to wait and see how it turns out.”

  “Let me help,” Kin said. He was going to lose her again. This time, it would be forever.

  “Don’t worry, Kin. You still owe me a kiss — and several gambling debts, come to think of it. I mean to have it all.” She closed her armor and charged into the night. Before she had taken two steps, the chain gun on her shoulder roared.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  “THIS is her brilliant plan?” Orlan asked.

  Kin stepped back from the underground passage. “It looks clear. Crashdown is a big place with miles of tunnels. The Slomn can’t be everywhere.”

  Orlan shook his head. “I’d rather fight the rest of the Imperials.”

  “Take the lead for a while. I need to read the rest of Becca’s message.” He viewed the navigation device as he walked, glancing up from time to time to be sure he didn’t run into a wall or fall down a hole. Becca hadn’t typed during the battle, because the words were careful and considerate.

  She began with coordinates and the warning not to venture deeper than the rendezvous point because the Slomn wormhole opened in the heart of the planet. Then she spoke of times they spent on Earth VI and when they were children. Heartfelt stories brought memories of her brothers and her father, of his decision to volunteer for the Hellsbreach Campaign, and her dark years after his escape pod was lost.

  Briefly, she apologized for the extended radio silence, explaining that her Shock Troopers were in close contact with both the Imperials and the Slomn. She hinted that Laura and the others were alive but didn’t elaborate.

  “That must be some message,” Raien said.

  “Rebecca’s been busy.”

  “She’s good. Didn’t realize she was that good, but she was always better than Randal and those other jerks.”

  Kin didn’t argue. If Rebecca survived, it would be through teamwork and sacrifice.

  Orlan stopped.

  Kin moved to his side and put away Rebecca’s one attempt to explain.

  “Are you in the game now?”

  “What game?”

  Orlan laughed and studied William over Kin’s sh
oulder. “He changed. I knew he could change. Just wish he didn’t like being a damn Reaper so much.”

  Kin thought of the angelic child he had seen while Orlan was preparing to attack the Imperial guards. Better to keep that a secret. He wondered why the boy revealed himself. Perhaps he wanted to show someone his real face before he died.

  He’s a brave child. Even Orlan must see that. Kin thought the trooper had made remarkable progress toward humanity. He almost seemed a decent person. His concern was predictably psychotic, fierce as everything the Hero of Man did, but welcome nonetheless. Maybe Kin had been meant to see Orlan’s true face before he died, just as he had seen William.

  “I’d rather he take a Reaper form than a Slomn.”

  Orlan laughed. “Sure, Kin. I guess I should be happy about that.”

  “Let’s move out. I’m tired and hungry.” Kin felt the effect of constant running and fighting like a blanket of fatigue. The rest of the group seemed ready to quit. Raien talked as though she had never been captured, but she’d lost twenty pounds during her short captivity. Dark circles around her eyes made her look sick, and each time Kin turned, she was sipping water from a canteen tube.

  “We can take a break, Captain,” Kin said.

  She nodded. No arguing, no excuses; just a quick step to the wall where she sat and leaned her elbows on her knees.

  Kin slid down beside her. “We need to talk about our prisoner.”

  Raien glared at Nander. The Imperial trooper stood where Orlan told him to — facing the wall like a naughty schoolchild or a recruit being hazed.

  “If he’s a Class II Soldier, I’m Queen of the Milky Way,” Raien said. She sipped water and nibbled on a ration bar.

  “Do you think he is a spy?” Kin asked. He explained how they stumbled into the man and how Orlan uncharacteristically saved him.

  Raien shrugged, capped the water tube, and clipped it to the harness. “Seems like a lot of trouble to insert a spy. First, they’d have to locate you in all this bullshit. Then stage the battle, risk losing the spy to Reapers or worse, and sacrifice a platoon of troopers. And when it was done, they’d have no contact with the agent.”

  Kin agreed with her.

  “That’s not the biggest reason I doubt he is a spy. Why would they go to so much trouble to infiltrate a group consisting of one convicted traitor, one dangerously unorthodox sergeant with medals he doesn’t deserve, and a weakling Reaper? Maybe they think one of you know where ‘Commander Westwood’ is.”

  “Sorry about that,” Kin said.

  Raien looked at William, annoyed, as she answered Kin. “Not your fault.”

  “I did warn you.”

  “Don’t remind me. That thought was on my mind more than a few times at the bottom of the Imperial cell.”

  Kin handed her another ration bar and a Crashdown fruit he had snagged two days earlier and shoved in a pouch. She bit in without looking at the hard-skinned apple-berry.

  “I hope Rebecca knows what she’s doing,” he said.

  Captain Raien stared. “We’re on borrowed time. The only reason I’m still fighting is that no one from my family goes down like a chump. They can wipe out the 11th LRC, but it’s going to cost them full price.”

  KIN checked the coordinates ten times. Before she became a Shock Trooper, Rebecca had been training to be a navigation officer. It was one of the twelve disciplines needed for high command in Earth Fleet.

  What happened to you, Rebecca? What changed you into a killer?

  Kin understood grief and the need for vengeance. Rebecca’s family had a code of honor equal to anyone with landholdings on Earth. She grew up listening to her big brothers talk tough. Elite military families possessed their own culture, their own microcosm of psychology.

  Obvious explanations were always traps, dead ends, or false positives. He didn’t know Rebecca. The image he held for years wasn’t reality, although he used it as a template when thinking about her. Despite all he knew of his childhood friend, he couldn’t believe she was an Earth Fleet Shock Trooper.

  The message on the navigation data tablet explained her reasons for joining the Shock Troopers but didn’t reveal the emotion behind them. The feelings she expressed were fond memories of better times. She was a professional soldier now and didn’t mix business with pleasure.

  Kin checked the device again. Rebecca wouldn’t give incorrect coordinates, so the error had to be his. He understood Crashdown contained large, honeycombed tunnels. But Becca sent him deep into the planet. She promised Laura and the others were safe. Her message had mentioned a vast cache of supplies and water, which had made little sense at the time. Now he saw why Becca had wasted valuable lines of encrypted code to reassure him.

  This far down, there was nothing but rock and darkness.

  And Slomn.

  Kin came to a corridor blocked by heat and light he dared not approach. He sensed a Slomn. Barely noticeable vibrations crept into his bones. Resonant atonal melodies blanketed his senses. The memory of the first Slomn loomed large in his imagination, oddly comforting as a known versus unknown image of the creatures.

  He stopped moving and held up a fist to signal Orlan and the others.

  “We can’t turn around every time we see a pretty light,” Orlan said.

  Kin moved back from the corner and faced the trooper. He looked at Nander, finding no clues. The Imperial didn’t seem as terrified now. Kin thought the man almost seemed cocky, as though he expected them to run from the Slomn.

  I have news for you. I take risks.

  “Are you going alone?” Orlan asked.

  Kin surveyed the passage and checked his balance. The eroded corridor descended steeply, which required him to lean uphill or slide. “This isn’t a good place to rest. Take the others back to the landing and wait for me. I’ll meet you there when I know more.”

  “Roger that.” Orlan waved his hands for the group to start up the sloping tunnel.

  Nander stood from where he had been resting. “What are you doing?”

  “It’s called reconnaissance,” Kin said.

  Nander scowled. “You will bring the wrath of the Slomn. We must find another way.”

  “Why are you stalling, Nander?” Kin asked.

  “He thinks the tracking device is leading his friends to us,” Orlan said.

  Nander seemed worried. “You’re paranoid.”

  “Maybe,” Orlan said. “But you’re screwed.” He held up a microchip.

  Nander felt the back of his neck, picked at a scab, and leaned against the wall. He tried to speak, but words wouldn’t come.

  “I told you not to sleep,” Orlan said.

  Nander looked at him through narrowed eyes. “You said you were going to kill me in my sleep.”

  Orlan shrugged. “I lied. You never lie?”

  Kin stepped between them. “Why didn’t you say something, Orlan?”

  “Tracking chips are common. I knew he had one. Didn’t think he was using it and it seemed his unit wasn’t bothering with a rescue mission, but I thought I’d be careful for once.”

  “Keep an eye on him. Don’t let him out of your sight. I’ll be back.”

  “I don’t sleep,” Orlan said. He rolled his eyes toward Nander. “So don’t get any ideas.”

  Kin proceeded through the underground warren with his flashlight off. Ambient light reflected around corners, and although it was faint, his vision adjusted. The source of the illumination retreated. When the light stopped, he stopped. But after a time, he realized there were glowing streaks on the wall. Above ground, even at night, the marks would have been nearly invisible. In the lightless underworld, the faintest glimmer dazzled the eyes.

  He marked each intersection with his knife, thankful his vision had adapted. In an FSPAA, he would have optics capable of gathering the smallest trace of illumination.

  Many spaces he crawled through were too small for full armor, so he pushed thoughts of armor aside. The oppressive feel of being underground eroded his c
onfidence. No amount of technology could change that.

  Something rasped on stone around the next bend in the tunnel. He approached and found a hole. The space became a shaft twenty feet deep before leveling out. He waited, noticing more frequent marks on the wall.

  Silence.

  His heart beat in his chest. He looked the way he had come, holstered his pistol, and began to climb. A Slomn was knowingly or unknowingly leading him deeper. Kin wanted to abandon his pursuit, slow as it was, but the course of the creature led toward the subterranean coordinates Becca had transmitted to him. Only a fool would ignore the coincidence.

  This is crazy.

  The tunnel angled down and to the right at the bottom. He looked up the shaft before continuing, wanting to return to the others and discuss a new plan.

  There was nothing to do but continue.

  Beyond a long, gradual curve, he came to an enormous cavern crisscrossed with bridges and ledges. Glowing walls illuminated a maze of structures below, above, and across. The farthest was perhaps one thousand meters away.

  On the bridges, Slomn warriors patrolled. They seemed to ignore each other. He studied them, hoping they didn’t look toward his hiding place. A pattern emerged as he tracked their movements. Each of the half-serpent, half-man giants worked downward, bridge by bridge, ledge by ledge. He saw one enter a tunnel similar to the one Kin occupied, then emerge later through a lower opening.

  He couldn’t detect the far wall. In that direction, darkness resisted the light of mineral deposits and the Slomn, who glowed like fire between their scales and their eyes, projected light in twin beams through the subterranean gloom. Shadows moved like armies, retreating when confronted by the creatures.

  Fascinated, Kin watched the scene for a long time. He sipped from a water tube that connected a bladder worn on his back. Even this small movement made him nervous. He spent the time wondering how salamander men commanded both darkness and light. He wondered how they found Crashdown and why they crept through the cavern. As sleep courted his mind, he learned the answer, or at least part of the answer. I should have destroyed those wormhole beacons.