Spinward Fringe Broadcast 11
Page 1
Spinward Fringe Broadcast 11
REVENGE
Randolph Lalonde
Contents
Books by Randolph Lalonde
Special Thanks
Preamble
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
Chapter 63
Chapter 64
Chapter 65
Chapter 66
Chapter 67
Chapter 68
Chapter 69
Chapter 70
Thank You and Contact Information
Books by Randolph Lalonde
THE CHAOS CORE SERIES
Trapped
Cool Pursuit
Savage Stars
* * *
THE SPINWARD FRINGE SERIES
Spinward Fringe Broadcast 0: Origins
Spinward Fringe Broadcast 1 and 2: Resurrection and Awakening
Spinward Fringe Broadcast 3: Triton
Spinward Fringe Broadcast 4: Frontline
Spinward Fringe Broadcast 5: Fracture
Spinward Fringe Broadcast 6: Fragments
The Expendable Few: A Spinward Fringe Novel
Spinward Fringe Broadcast 7: Framework
Spinward Fringe Broadcast 8: Renegades
Spinward Fringe Broadcast 9: Warpath
Spinward Fringe Broadcast 10: Freeground
Spinward Fringe Broadcast 10.5: Carnie's Tale
Spinward Fringe Broadcast 11: Revenge
* * *
FANTASY
Brightwill
Highshield Book I
* * *
HORROR
Dark Arts
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For more information please visit:
www.RandolphLalonde.com
Spinward Fringe Broadcast 11: Revenge Copyright © 2018 by Randolph Lalonde
* * *
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher, Randolph Lalonde.
* * *
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
* * *
Spinward Fringe is a Registered Trademark of Randolph Lalonde
* * *
Thank you for supporting the author by purchasing this book. Every honest reader counts.
* * *
EBook ISBN: 978-1-988175-12-6
Print ISBN: 978-1-988175-15-7
Created with Vellum
Special Thanks
I owe a lot to everyone who worked on this book, read the rough version of Alice's story on Patreon and offered their input and to you, the reader. It isn't abnormal for a novel to take between one to two years to surface, but in the Indie EBook world expectations are high. This book became two novels: Spinward Fringe Broadcast 10.5: Carnie's Tale and Spinward Fringe Broadcast 11: Revenge because readers saw material that was cut from the series and wanted to see that story.
* * *
In the last two years, constructive reader input has been helpful in bringing more of the Spinward Fringe story into the world. With that in mind, I have to emphasize how important it is to read the rest of the series including Broadcast 10.5: Carnie's Tale before reading this book.
* * *
I would also like to thank everyone who has hosted, organized or assisted with events centred around Spinward Fringe. There have been events in the UK, USA and Australia as far as I know. I'm always amazed and humbled at how this series can bring people together.
* * *
Thank you for your support and your efforts.
Preamble
Alice Valent
After completing a significant step in her Haven Fleet training, Alice Valent is moving on to the next phase. All the while she wonders where her father and the crew of the Revenge are, and why they aren't expected to arrive with the rest of the fleet coming from the Iron Head Nebula.
* * *
Jacob Valent
The agility and reflexes Jacob had before the framework system was removed are returning as he works with his crew to rescue a multitude of crewmembers. The battle to defend Freeground Alpha was fought by the entire Freeground Fleet from a distance, but the Revenge tipped the balance as it closed the distance and gave Samurai Squadron time to damage the capabilities of the largest Order of Eden ship any of them had ever seen, the Glorious.
It was the right choice, but the results leave no room or time for pride as he joins the crew of the Revenge in rescuing their fellow crew mates from wherever they may be stranded or trapped in damaged sections of their ship. Days of working shoulder-to-shoulder with them, leading his own rescue squad and working longer hours than anyone else has earned their respect and admiration.
Rescue and repair has been his only focus for nearly two weeks. All the while he has taken comfort in the knowledge that Ayan Anderson and Alice Valent are both safely home in the Rega Gain System, which has been renamed the Haven System in his absence.
This is the last day of his rescue mission. Not because he is too exhausted to continue, but because they’ve finally reached the last life sign. Trapped behind more rubble and warped metal than anyone else, their lead Medical Technician, Ensign Zac Levine has been in and out of stasis as he waits for crews to clear their way to him.
* * *
The Triton & Admiral Terry Ozark (Oz) McPatrick
After suffering massive damage, the Triton and crew travels alongside Freeground Fleet and Freeground Alpha as they continue their journey away from the Iron Head Nebula in a long-distance wormhole. The Nafalli Fleet that has allied with them sent repair crews to Freeground Alpha in order to repair and improve its wormhole generator and have made great progress, cannibalizing whatever they can from Freeground Fleet ships, the station itself and some of their own vessels to restore and improve the essential travel technology. By all estimates, the large gathering of allies i
s a long way from Order of Eden territory, and will arrive in the Rega Gain system, now renamed the Haven System, in days, not weeks.
All the while, Admiral McPatrick (Oz) wonders what happened to his friend, Jacob Valent, and his ship, the Revenge. As they escaped the Revenge had to take a separate wormhole provided by one of their allies, and the heavily damaged ship hasn’t been seen on scanners since, indicating that their escape route has taken them well off course.
* * *
The Revenge
The damage to the nose of the ship and the port side have destroyed a quarter of the ship, an entire hangar, thousands of tons of supplies, equipment, many crew quarters and the medical bay. Engineering Chief Finn directs repairs on their primary power systems and main hull support structure. The First Officer, Stephanie Vega has been directing ship operations from the bridge.
Gunnery Chief Frost has been assigned the daunting task of directing robots and repair teams as they work frantically to restore functionality to thrusters and weapons. To the surprise of everyone aboard, the gruff Chief’s people have been able to restore all but one of the ship’s main thrusters, and two of their heavy railgun turrets are ready for action, making the Revenge a formidable threat despite its overall condition.
The crew collectively hope it will be enough, since the Revenge and the Hoarta will be emerging behind Order of Eden enemy lines.
One
Desire Versus Duty
* * *
While Alice delivered the torso of her new android friend, Theodore, to the home of an android technician who owed her a favour, every part of her uniform changed. Her heavy jacket, which was one of her favourite things - a waist length, thick garment that had hidden sections that could generate a shield and expand into a heavy suit of armour - had turned black and gained thick red pinstripe running down the sides. The same pattern was repeated on her uniform vacsuit and heavy combat boots, where the rest of her heavy armour hid.
A check on her comm unit strapped to her left wrist revealed nothing. Her civilian file was still there, connected to Crewcast as usual so she could contact friends and anyone else in Haven Shore, but her military file was blocked completely. It had to have something to do with the Triton returning with Freeground Alpha and over a million Nafalli in tow. It probably had something to do with her father being reported missing in action along with the Revenge and the Hoarta, the Nafalli battle cruiser that helped them escape.
It was late, or early depending on how you looked at it. Oh four oh three in the morning. Thanks to the shield around Haven Shore, the whole island chain was embraced by a false night. It was part of an effort to get the island and all its inhabitants on a controlled, earth like twenty-four-hour schedule. Morale and sleep health were already on the rise after one week of the experiment, but Alice hadn’t been exposed to it long enough to decide whether or not she liked it. Most of her time off after training was spent with the shades drawn, in front of holographic and audio data as she wrote the largest report of her life on Noah Lucas, the pilot known as Carnie, and his experiences on Iora. At the end she gladly helped him by tracking down his companion and friend, Theo, who was left in a state of disrepair thanks to a long line at the automation repair facilities in Haven Shore. Carnie was lost along with her father, so he wouldn’t know about her helping hand until he returned, if he returned.
Considering the clearance level required to see the report, and who wrote it, Haven Fleet Command may have to ensure that he would never know she helped him. It may become a secret Theo had to keep as well, and he would, keeping secrets was something he was good at, something he was made for. There were important details in her report that could result in the execution of several missions and sealing the file would ensure low ranking members of the military or civilians couldn’t discern what those missions might be. She tried not to think about never being able to take a little credit for helping Carnie, she’d come to admire him during the time she spent reviewing his lengthy narrated log. His voice had become familiar to her, even comforting.
Theo would be taken care of. That was the most important thing to her with regards to tying up Carnie’s loose ends. Alice could turn all of her attention to making sure that her father, the Revenge, and everyone aboard were found and brought home.
The weeks old Haven Shore transit car took her from the edge of the jungle swiftly. “There’s a lot happening in the fleet,” Iruuk said. “Updates coming from the Triton every few seconds. More from the Nafalli Hub.”
The comfortable seating in the transit car seemed like overkill for such a short distance, but she was happy it was there. It felt like she’d been awake for days. In the last few hours she’d tried getting in touch with everyone she knew above her Cadet rank, and no one was replying. The Triton had returned, her father was reported missing and she had no idea what to do. Iruuk’s uniform changed to black with a gold pinstripe down his sides. “Well, someone picked you for their bridge crew, congratulations, Second Lieutenant,” Alice said. The half slash on his shoulder told her his rank, and the hollow section in the middle told her it was probationary, she expected he was wanted for a higher rank, but he had to earn his way to it somehow.
He looked at himself, then his comm unit, wide eyed, excited. His nose twitched, he blinked at the message on his communicator, then very quietly said; “I’m on the Advance, due to complete final shipyard testing later today.”
“Congratulations, Fur-Face,” Alice said. The transit car slowed down at the base of the Everin Building. The rounded segments of the structure hung above them. A third of the units she could see had their lights on, which was unusual for the night cycle. There was a crowd of people waiting to get onto the transit car. Alice and Iruuk made their way off through the throng, many of whom looked like they were just waking up. “Looks like it’s a busy morning.”
“I’m not supposed to report for another six hours,” Iruuk said. “What do I do until then?”
Alice turned to him once they were clear of the crowd. “Go home, get your kit together and then get some sleep. I don’t need you to come with me to see my mother.”
“But we don’t even know where you’ve been assigned, or what’s going on with your father, or the Revenge.”
“I’ll find out, don’t worry. I’ll send you a message as soon as I know. You have a new assignment to rest up for.”
“I don’t know if I could sleep, I’m too excited,” Iruuk said. “Serving on the bridge of a ship already, and in the sciences section, it’s my first pick for specialization.”
“You’re going to do great. Just knock yourself out for a few hours, show up on time, do your job and it’ll turn out fine. Better than fine.”
“I forgot about that, being able to get my own medication. I’m still used to my mother doing it.”
Sometimes Alice forgot how young he was. His new rank, and the fact that he already had an assignment while her situation was unclear told her that they wouldn’t be serving on the same ship, perhaps not in the same solar system, and she knew she’d miss him. “You’ll be fine, Iruuk. Next time I meet you, you’ll probably be giving me orders, or advice at least.”
Iruuk laughed, a high-pitched yip, before taking her into an embrace that made the world disappear. “Thank you, Alice,” he said as he stepped back. “You’re my first real human friend, my best friend. I hope we end up on the same ship.”
“We’ll send messages if we don’t,” Alice said. “Now go get some sleep.” She turned away, towards the Everin Building.
“Bye Alice, good luck!” he called after her.
She didn’t turn around but pressed on into the foyer of the Everin Building. “I’m going to miss you so much, Fur-Face,” she said under her breath. His new crew mates would love him, he would work with them beautifully because he enjoyed collaboration and knew how to follow orders. His keen mind would do the rest, he was so much more intelligent than she was. Sciences was where he belonged, and he’d thrive there.
&nb
sp; In the middle of the foyer of the Everin Building was a giant planter with a broad column in the middle. Around the column small fruit and berry plants flourished. Some of them were flowering instead of producing food, filling in the gaps with red, yellow and blue splashes of colour. The central column was part of the aquarium system that had been woven throughout the building.
Colourful perch, sunfish and other fresh water life swam around, paying the people passing by no mind. The innermost wall of the foyer was a much larger tank, filling the space with a dimly lit exhibition of some of the larger species that were in the system, including a grey-blue Serza Shark that glided through the water with purpose. With its jagged, pointed nose it looked threatening even though it was less than a metre long. Alice leaned against the transparent metal wall of the aquarium and tapped the tank lightly as the elevator was on its way. In an instant it turned towards her, rolled its eyes up so only the whites were visible and charged her with its toothy maw open. Alice jumped back and laughed at herself for a moment as the shark turned away and swam on. “Now that’s a predator.”