Those at Radiance weren’t too happy to learn that their people would be living and working on a planet that hosted small Hashmedaian communities that were breeding. Pressure was put on the UNE to step up and deal with the problem, especially after a dozen Radiance civilians ended up murdered or assaulted by angry Hashmedai. A few humans got in the crossfire too, as they were mistaken for Linl. Thus, the HLF was born; humans who formed an emotional attachment and sympathy to some of the Hashmedai took up arms and launched a series of terrorist attacks against Radiance, anti-Hashmedai groups, and UNE forces deployed to deal with large and active Hashmedai communities.
No one knew exactly where their base of operation was, but Vancouver had been a hot spot for HLF activity, as Canada featured one of the largest Hashmedai communities on Earth. It’s no surprise to many that the Vancouver region was dubbed the “Radiance Graveyard,” though the UNE preferred to label it a “red zone.” There were eight red zones worldwide.
“Prepare for landing,” the pilot of the transport announced over the intercom.
Ken’s thoughts returned to the present, and he gazed out the window to watch the transport descend from the thick mist of clouds that soaked the craft in rain. The sight of Vancouver in the distance emerged, resting at the foot of the mountains, virtually untouched by the war with the exception of a few extra postwar skyscrapers. The city grew larger as it came into view. Ken was the reminded of a feature of old-world traveling that he missed—the rush of an aircraft, slowly landing to the runway. Transports were all based off Radiance tech, and so they were capable of vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL). Gone were the days of needing a runway to land or fly to the skies, the transport simply landed next to the transport hub, formerly known as an airport.
A network of hallways led Ken to the baggage claim area; his hands stroked his blond hair in a frustrated manner. All these advances and we’re still using this system to claim our baggage? What’s going to stop someone from walking up and taking your stuff? After fifteen minutes of paranoid waiting, he obtained his travel baggage after it came into view from the rotating treadmill and proceeded to the Earth Rapid Transit Train platform. This used to be part of the skytrain system; he had fond memories of traveling on the skytrain network when he was a kid during the prewar days. Once Radiance showed up, they offered to upgrade and network Earth and later Mars with a rapid transit system that was commonplace on Radiance planets. As Ken recalled, the people who helped design the newer trains in Unity City, came here to Earth to undertake this project. And it showed; the interior of the train was identical to the train network used all across Australia, which apparently is the same design as the ones in Unity City on Lejorania Sanctum.
At last, Ken thought as he arrived at his intended destination, an upscale condo in the Yaletown district of Vancouver. Little did the people in the outside world know, his suite was a safe house for Earth Intelligence and Security Service (EISS) agents such as Ken. As far as his wife, Yvonne, and others were concerned, Ken was there on business, overseeing the launch of a new retail outlet.
“Computer,” Ken said. “Lights.” The darkened condo was illuminated with lights in the hallway, kitchen, and living room.
“I hope your journey was a pleasant one, sir,” said the computer. It had an Australian accent much like Ken’s—a little taste of home while he was away.
“Too short, but enjoyable,” he said as he walked toward the kitchen. His hand interacted with a holographic window in front of the refrigerator to display the contents of the fridge. “Computer, are there any new messages for me?” he asked.
“Please stand by,” it replied. “You have no new messages at this time, sir.”
“Thank you,” he said, stepping into the living room to sit down with a holo pad in hand.
“Shall I contact ‘overlord’ and inform them you have arrived?” the computer asked.
“Negative,” he said. “Do it…tomorrow morning. I need to rest.”
And by “rest,” Ken meant shagging two smoking-hot escorts for the night.
His holo pad loaded a directory of all the local and expensive girls in the area. They were expensive for a good reason. Radiance frowned upon the idea of sex work and had been pulling strings within the UNE to deal with it. Ken found this amusing, as brothels existed within the Radiance Union, highly illegal and rare, but they existed. If he didn’t know any better, it was almost as if Radiance were trying to mold the human race into the sixth member of the Radiance Union.
Holographic pictures of half-naked women appeared before him while he swiped his hands from right to left, causing the projection to scroll and load additional ladies. The hardest part of dealing with these lovely ladies was ensuring that the ones you wanted were available.
He felt fabulous about doing this with next to no guilt in his chest. He knew damn well Yvonne would be sleeping with the grounds keeper of their home the moment she got the chance. One of the perks of being in the EISS was that it was easy to spy on your wife when you were out of town. The moment she stopped sucking his cock, was the moment he’d stop dealing with these ladies; fair is fair.
SURREY, EARTH, SOL SYSTEM
I’m never going to get this, Lyir thought as he sat on his bed, holo pad in hand with his homework from school displayed. Being a Hashmedai boy going to school in a human world put him at a disadvantage, especially when your English literature teacher lost his family during the invasion. Lyir had pale, cream-colored skin and light-blue hair, much like his mother Pernoy, whom he lived with in this Surrey community. His mother and father had helped rebuild the community, yet here he was, on the verge of failing, quite possibly because he wasn’t born a human, or so his friends claimed.
“Lyir,” his mother called out to him in the Hashmedai language. “Come down for dinner.”
“I’ve still got to finish my homework.”
“You won’t finish it correctly on an empty belly,” she retorted. “Come down and eat your damn food.”
His teenage body took a seat at the dinner table with his mother, Pernoy. Rare steak was the meal for the night. Pernoy had extremely long blue hair with traces of white in it. Her eyes were orange, while Lyir’s eyes were a deep red. Off in the distance, an old-world TV was on, broadcasting the evening news. As the two ate, Lyir gazed at the damaged TV screen; the headline caught his attention: “Heroes of Earth Returned At Last.”
His half-sister, Eupiar, sat on the couch next to the TV. The contents didn’t seem to interest her, just the holographic display screen of her laptop. Unlike Lyir, Eupiar was half-human; their mother, Pernoy, was a noncombatant severing aboard a Hashmedai ship during the invasion only to crash-land. The US Marine aggressors held her and the surviving crew captive.
One of the soldiers started to develop a certain affection for her and remorse; after all, Pernoy was here because she was ordered to come. Night after night of secret playtime during their “interrogation secessions” resulted in Eupiar’s existence. Sadly, her father never got the chance to see her grow up; he was killed trying to help Pernoy and Eupiar escape to into Canada.
“Hmm, they’re back,” said Lyir, turning away from the news headline. “What do you think, Mother?”
“Not much—they were bound to return to Earth sooner or later,” she said before taking another bite of her juicy meal.
“But those are the people who blew up the command ship, causing you and all the other Hashmedai to be stranded here.” Lyir returned to his meal, while he curiously awaited his mother’s reply.
“I don’t hate them, if that’s what you’re trying to get at,” she said. “They did what they had to do. It was war, and we were destroying their world.”
“But don’t you want to be off this world? Isn’t that the reason you never cut your hair? Because then ends of it existed back when you were still in the empire?” A loaded question, but his young inquiring mind was hungry for knowledge that didn’t have to do with schoolwork.
“If those folk
s never destroyed the command ship, or if there had been a way for me to get home, I would have never met your father, or Eupiar’s.”
“There must have been a way for you two to meet had things been different; you were both in the military, after all.” Lyir often fantasized about the idea of parallel universes where things were different. The thought of him never having to experience the depressing life he was living thus far always tantalized his mind.
“Not really,” his mother said. “I’m from the deep space colonies. The frigate I served on joined up with the fleet because they were short one.”
He thought for a moment, slowly putting the facts together. “And Father was from Paryo.”
“Exactly, we would have never crossed paths regardless. And don’t forget about your sister. Neither I nor her father would have met.” Conclusion: in order for him, them, to exist, the last twenty-two years had to have played out the way they did. Life is not fair at all.
There was semisilence once again at the dinner table as the two ate, while the TV continued to play the news. Eupiar tied her half-human hair into a ponytail, it was dyed in a mixture of colors, a galaxy style, they called it. An ombré of colors, it started from silver at the top of her head, transitioned to light blue and dark blue, and ended with black at the tips. Her heavily tattooed arms stretched forward, and she resumed whatever the hell had her so fascinated with her laptop. A headline on the TV stated, “Four Men Found Dead at East Hastings Early This Afternoon.” The doorbell rang and ripped Lyir’s attention away from the TV and his sister. Took him long enough, he thought as he looked at the third dinner plate on the table, untouched and getting cold.
“I’ll get it,” Lyir offered, and then he shut his eyes to focus. The door unlocked and swung open…with the aid of telekinesis from Lyir’s psionic mind.
His uncle Dollon stood behind the door. Rainwater dripped off him as if he showered with his clothes on. Dollon’s hair was much like Lyir’s father’s, cut short and white. His skin was a darker-cream color, and he wore a black suit and pants that covered his psionic cybernetics, which would probably explain why he didn’t just teleport in as usual.
He stepped inside as Lyir’s mind shut and locked the door behind Dollon. Then he walked toward the fridge, rather than the dinner that Lyir was expecting. “Sorry I’m late,” Dollon said, removing a bottle of vodka from the fridge. “Had some things to take care of.”
Lyir’s mother arose from her seat to confront Dollon, acting like she was going to wash dishes, but Lyir knew better. Washing dishes is the very last she does at the end of long day; it was too early for her to be doing that. Lyir slowly picked at his food and kept his ear toward the kitchen to listen in.
“Are those ‘things’ the same ones that took your brother’s life?” she asked in lower tone of voice.
“Those things allowed me to get you some more food,” Dollon said. “And pay your bills.” His hands poured a small glass of vodka to drink and handed her an Earth-based credit chit.
“Our bills are all up to date.”
“Then you can use this credit chit to replace that awful TV,” he said, then downed his drink. “Maybe get those Holo TVs the rest of the world has upgraded to.” Lyir’s mother remained silent as Dollon snorted and then took a seat at the dinner table. “So, Lyir, what are you learning in school this month?”
“Romeo and Juliet, written by a human named William Shakespeare.” Lyir said.
“Is that so.” Lyir could sense that Dollon didn’t care. “Hey, Eupiar how’s your schooling coming along?”
“I dropped out yesterday,” she casually replied.
“You what?” Pernoy snapped her attention to Eupiar.
“Really.” Dollon said, this time with a certain level of interest in his voice. “So what you’re saying is you’re free to help me out more often?”
Pernoy shouted toward Eupiar who never once removed her eyes away from her screen. “Eupiar! Why…couldn’t you have at least told me?”
“School is boring.”
“You were getting good marks!”
“I’m part Hashmedai. They’ll never give me the marks I worked hard for.” Finally, her slim teenage body looked away from her screen. “And yes, Dollon, I could help.”
HLF HEADQUARTERS, NORTHERN CANADA, SOL SYSTEM
Hannah Grey’s slender body rested on the soft and comforting feel of her queen-sized bed. She wore a black gothic nightgown. Then again, everything she had in her wardrobe had some kind of Lolita gothic look to it. Her gown blended perfectly with her long raven black hair and the black satin bedsheets, pillows, and blankets. She had spread her arms out from side to side, and her fingers were pointed upward to the ceiling.
And then her lips slowly began to move.
Another one of her clairvoyant chants was incoming. Tetsuya Ishihara was ready to take notes as per Hannah’s direct orders, on the rare chance she forgot what was said.
“Forty trillion kilometers one way, forty trillion the next, eighty trillion in total. Right ascension for A, fourteen hours, thirty-nine minutes, thirty-six point four, nine, four zero, zero seconds. Right ascension for B, fourteen hours, thirty-nine minutes thirty-five point zero, six, three, one, one seconds.” Hannah took a breath, and then continued, with no emotion in her voice. “Into the Explorer they went, on the Seeker they returned. Five travelers: the first one, the second, the lover, the jealous one, and…an unknown.” Hannah paused as she tried to process the identity of the unknown. “Who is she? Why is she there? I don’t recall her existence. Life or death? She is an unknown.” Her body dashed upward to sit up, with her eyes wide open; she took a long deep breath and then said, “They…have arrived.”
“Who has?” Tetsuya asked.
Hannah’s head little by little tilted toward Tetsuya. With a smile on her face, she revealed their names: “Chloe, Sarah, Chris, Gavin, and the unknown.” Her face twitched somewhat as she brushed her hand down her neck, slowing reaching down between her breasts, then her belly. The unknown needed a name, any name. Ah yes, that name will do for now. “Ella, yes, her name is Ella.”
“Your orders?” Tetsuya asked, shutting off the recording feature of his holo pad.
Hannah’s smile transformed into a malicious grin. “Kill them all!” she shouted and then returned to her resting position. While examining her waving hands, she added, “Chloe and Gavin must survive, however.”
Read Uprising of the Exiled to learn more.
Table of Contents
Copyright
Table of Contents
Also by Eddie R. Hicks
Foreword
Prologue
1. Foster
2. EISS agent 19, Codename: Test
3. Chevallier
4. Williams
5. Foster
6. Foster
7. Chevallier
8. Williams
9. Foster
10. Foster
11. Chevallier
12. Williams
13. McDowell
14. Foster
15. Chevallier
16. Williams
17. Williams
18. Chevallier
19. Williams
20. Foster
21. Nereid
22. Williams
23. Chevallier
24. Williams
25. Foster
26. Foster
27. Rivera
28. Kostelecky
29. Bailey
30. Kostelecky
31. Chang
32. Bailey
33. Rivera
34. Pierce
35. Foster
36. Foster
37. Eve
38. Foster
39. Chevallier
40. Foster
41. Chevallier
Epilogue
Afterword
Uprising of the Exiled Preview
axy Space Fantasy Novel
The Siege of Sirius: A Splintered Galaxy Space Fantasy Novel Page 34