“I am feeling magnanimous today,” Farhad said. “Call the Besquith general, Betreth, and give him the opportunity to surrender.”
They had their answer before Farhad reached the split in the passage.
“Betreth said that he will see us all dead before he thinks about surrendering,” Najafi reported.
“Good,” Farhad replied. “No surrender. Kill them all, men!”
* * *
Kelfor-6, Besquith Tunnels
General Betreth watched the advancing mecha slowly maneuver their way through the tunnel system. Their liberal use of explosives defeated the majority of the traps his troops had devised and neutralized their defensive positions with a minimum of casualties. The Asbaran troopers also destroyed the cameras as they passed, so he could easily determine where they were—wherever he couldn’t see. Despite his troops’ best efforts, he had only seen a couple of their hated mecha destroyed.
It was dishonorable the way the Humans fought—hiding behind metal suits rather than meeting his troops in hand-to-hand combat, but that was their way. Dishonor above all else. His son had received a dishonorable death at their hands, and now it looked like—instead of revenge—he would receive the same ending.
Although the operation had been planned to coincide with a time when neither Asbaran Solutions nor Cartwright’s Cavaliers would be available, he could see the troopers were Asbaran. Hopefully, the day would come, and soon, when they would all perish. He had spoken with Peepo and knew there were plans in place, but he had claimed the honor of killing the Golden Horde before it began. Unfortunately, it hadn’t worked out that way.
He would die with a weapon in his hand, though, and he focused his laser rifle on the door to his office. Perhaps he could kill a few of them before they got him. The humans’ suits were susceptible to laser fire, and he had the most powerful laser in their inventory.
He fired the laser when the door slammed open, then paused when he saw no one was standing outside. He held his fire and moved around his desk, looking for a target in the passage outside. Several large bundles arced into the room from the sides of the door. They were too big to be grenades, he thought at first, but then he realized they were…just up-sized to fit the massive hands of the giant mecha.
There was a flash as the K-bombs exploded, then nothing.
* * * * *
Epilogue
Golden Horde HQ, Uzbekistan, Earth
“I’m really impressed with everything you did at Kelfor-6,” Sansar said. “Without your assistance, things would have been much different, and we might even have been wiped out if General Betreth’s plan had been allowed to proceed as he’d envisioned. He’d put millions of credits into it, but it was all undone by your work, both in the intel shop and with your Hoplite.”
“Thank you, ma’am,” Markus said, “but it wasn’t anything that anyone else in the Horde wouldn’t have done.”
“They might have tried to do it, but I don’t know that they would have been as successful as you were.”
“Thank you, ma’am,” Markus repeated, bowing his head. “I was just trying to do my best to help the team.”
“I know,” Sansar said, “and I have something for you that will challenge even your considerable skills.”
“What’s that, ma’am?” Markus asked.
“I just took a small defensive contract to help train a new member of the Galactic Union. They aren’t interested in becoming mercs, but they do want to have the ability to defend their planet and the outposts in their system. The system is strategically placed on one of the trade routes, and a new Merchant Guild base is being built there.”
“Like the one being built in Kelfor-6?”
“Hopefully without all the Besquith,” Sansar said with a smile, “but yes, just like that. Under the auspices of helping to train the indigenous race there, I want you to set up a listening post and monitor traffic. If the Merchant Guild base becomes as big of a hub as they’re forecasting, there might be some great intel to be gleaned in the system. Something still seems…odd, recently—” She held up a hand, silencing him, “—I don’t know what it is, but things just seem odd. Too many companies not coming back from contracts, and other things, like this damn dream I keep having…”
“Dream, ma’am?”
“You know the Black Death scenario in the simulators?”
Markus faked a shudder, although he didn’t have to try very hard. “Everyone knows about the Black Death scenario, ma’am. It’s a graduation-level event.”
“It came from a dream I had.”
Now Markus didn’t have to fake it—a very real shudder came over him as tendrils of ice crept down his spine. The leaders of the Horde were rumored to have dreams, and they often came true. If that particular dream came true…he didn’t want to think about it.
“I’ve had that dream several times recently,” Sansar said. “That may be why I feel like something’s wrong—that dream is very unsettling.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Markus replied. “I can see how that would be. What can I do to help?”
“I will be leading the Horde on a contract to the Trigar System, but I would like you to take a squad of specialists on this other contract, and I want you to keep your eyes and ears open. I know I can trust your judgement…and your discretion.”
“You can count on me,” Markus said. “I’ll take care of it.”
“Thanks, Markus,” Sansar said. “I knew I could count on you.”
# # # # #
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* * * * *
About Chris Kennedy
A bestselling Science Fiction/Fantasy author, speaker, and publisher, Chris Kennedy is a former naval aviator and elementary school principal. Chris’ stories include the Theogony and Codex Regius science fiction trilogies, and stories in the Four Horsemen military sci-fi series. Get his free book, Shattered Crucible, at his website, http://chriskennedypublishing.com.
Chris is the author of the award-winning #1 bestseller, Self-Publishing for Profit: How to Get Your Book Out of Your Head and Into the Stores. Called “fantastic” and “a great speaker,” he has coached hundreds of beginning authors and budding novelists on how to self-publish their stories at a variety of conferences, conventions, and writing guild presentations, and he is publishing fifteen authors under various imprints of his Chris Kennedy Publishing small press.
Chris lives in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and is the holder of a doctorate in educational leadership. Follow Chris on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/chriskennedypublishing.biz.
About Alex Rath
Alex Rath is a long-time fan of science fiction and fantasy books and gaming, going back to his youth when he started playing Dungeons & Dragons, Traveler, and Battletech, among many others, at a young age. He decided that becoming an author was the next logical step. He has written many stories for his own use, but decided it was time to start sharing his writing with others.
His first book, With Your Shield, based in the Four Horsemen military sci-fi universe, was a great way to start. He has been a professional software developer for over 20 years and is familiar with what can be done with a computer and applied that to the universe. Alex will continue writing both science fiction and fantasy, many of the stories being inspired by his experiences while gaming with either pencil and paper, or online.
Alex lives in Columbia, South Carolina with his family. Follow Alex on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/alexrathauthor, or his website https://alexrathauthor.com/.
* * * * *
Titles by Chris Kennedy
Red Tide: The Chinese Invasion of Seattle – Available Now
Occupied Seattle – Available Now
Janissaries: Book One of The Theogony – Available Now
When the Gods Aren’t Gods: Book Two
of The Theogony – Available Now
Terra Stands Alone: Book Three of The Theogony – Available Now
Can’t Look Back: Book One of the War for Dominance – Available Now
The Search for Gram: Book One of the Codex Regius – Available Now
Beyond the Shroud of the Universe: Book Two of the Codex Regius – Available Now
The Dark Star War: Book Three of the Codex Regius – Available Now
Self-Publishing for Profit – Available Now
Leadership from the Darkside – Available Now
Asbaran Solutions – Available Now
The Golden Horde – Available Now
Alpha Contracts – Available Now
A Fistful of Credits – Available Now
For a Few Credits More – Available Now
The Good, The Bad, And The Merc – Available Now
A Fiery Sunset – Available Now
Dark Moon Arisen – Available Now
A Pale Dawn – Available Now
* * * * *
Connect with Chris Kennedy Online
Website: http://chriskennedypublishing.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chriskennedypublishing.biz
Twitter: @ChrisKennedy110
Instagram: chris.kennedy12
Connect with Alex Rath Online
Website: http://www.alexrathauthor.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alexrathauthor
Twitter: @AuthorRath
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* * * * *
The following is an
Excerpt from Book One of the Omega Wars:
A Fiery Sunset
___________________
Chris Kennedy and
Mark Wandrey
Available Now from Seventh Seal Press
eBook, Paperback, and Audio
Excerpt from “A Fiery Sunset:”
Avander Pharmaceuticals, Chattanooga, Tennessee, Earth
“Dr. Avander will see you now,” said the Veetch. The alien obviously thought he was stupid, Major Good decided, as it flipped one of its left hands to indicate the enormous mahogany door behind it that sported the nameplate, “Dr. Ezekiel Avander, CEO.” As it was the only door beside the one he came in, Good really didn’t need a lot of decision-making skill to figure that out.
Apparently, showing in visitors wasn’t part of the alien’s job description, as it went back to what it was doing without getting up. Nice.
Major Good walked to the door and turned the handle. The solid mahogany door was every bit the feature-piece it appeared to be and required a decent portion of his augmented strength to open. It probably was meant to overawe visitors. Good, however, found it slightly annoying.
“Dr. Avander?” he asked as he entered the room. The office was as ostentatious on the inside as he had guessed it would be from looking at the exterior. Luxuriously-appointed furnishings were tastefully positioned throughout the room, with bookcases artfully filled with a variety of works, from classical masterpieces to the latest treatises on the art and practice of war. It was a tribute to an extremely wealthy man who had equally eclectic tastes.
The other feature of the room was a massive desk that matched the entrance door, on which sat a forest of slates and monitors, to the extent that the man behind them was only glimpsed in portions and slices. From what Good could see, the man appeared in constant motion, working on a great portion of the devices in front of him, nearly simultaneously.
“Yes?” came a distant voice from behind the monitors.
“I’m Major Good,” the intel officer replied. “I’m here to talk with you about why you haven’t returned our calls.”
The motion behind the monitors ceased, and a hand slid a number of the monitors out of the way so Good could see the man behind them. Whatever Good had expected from the merc-turned-CEO, this wasn’t it. The man wore a faded leather jacket, and a giant stogie hung from the corner of his mouth. Lines from his implants trailed off to four of the slates. Although the man was closing in on 150 years old, he looked no older than 55, and appeared in top physical shape. The piercing blue eyes stared at Good for a moment as if looking into his soul, then the man smiled and waved him to one of the two chairs in front of the desk.
“Please sit,” the man said, “and call me Zeke.”
“Hi, Zeke,” Major Good replied; “we’ve called you a bunch, and you haven’t returned any of our calls.”
“There’s a damned good reason why, too.”
“What’s that?”
“I’m not interested,” Zeke said, and he started to pull the monitors back into their earlier positions.
“One second,” Good said. “Can I ask why you’re not interested? Your planet has been assaulted by aliens, and all you want to do is to sit here and run your empire? Trying to milk a few more credits from old men and women in search of the Fountain of Youth?”
“Look,” Zeke said, “I enjoyed my time with The Golden Horde, and I think I did very well for you. Certainly, my service helped garner some extra credits for the company. Now, I may not have the intelligence facilities the Horde does, but my network runs pretty deep, and I’m kept passingly familiar with anything important going on, anywhere on this planet, that might affect business. I am well aware of the aliens on Earth and their intentions. I’m not, however, interested in coming back to work for the Horde; I have enough to do here.”
“What could be more important than joining the resistance?”
Zeke cocked his head and looked piercingly at the major again. “Do you know what we do here?” he finally asked.
“You help old people live another day through a variety of treatments and enhancements.”
“I help people live longer,” Zeke said. “I help them beat diseases that are untreatable anywhere else on this planet. I do this by working at the cellular level, fixing things that have previously been unfixable by mankind. I give people life!”
Zeke turned one of the monitors so Good could see the image of a virus on it. “I can also take life,” he continued, his voice quiet, “just as easily as I can give it. You are running around recruiting people for a war that is already underway, a war that I am already fighting. Only my company can tailor viruses to do the things we want. To attack the creatures I want. Why am I not interested in coming back to the Horde? Because I’m far more valuable here.”
* * * * *
Get “A Fiery Sunset” now at: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CBCK45L.
Find out more about Chris Kennedy and get the free Four Horsemen prequel,
“Shattered Crucible” at: http://chriskennedypublishing.com/.
* * * * *
The following is an
Excerpt from Book One of the Salvage Title Trilogy:
Salvage Title
___________________
Kevin Steverson
Now Available from Theogony Books
eBook, Paperback, and Audio
Excerpt from “Salvage Title:”
A steady beeping brought Harmon back to the present. Clip’s program had succeeded in unlocking the container. “Right on!” Clip exclaimed. He was always using expressions hundreds or more years out of style. “Let’s see what we have; I hope this one isn’t empty, too.” Last month they’d come across a smaller vault, but it had been empty.
Harmon stepped up and wedged his hands into the small opening the door had made when it disengaged the locks. There wasn’t enough power in the small cells Clip used to open it any further. He put his weight into it, and the door opened enough for them to get inside. Before they went in, Harmon placed a piece of pipe in the doorway so it couldn’t close and lock on them, baking them alive before anyone realized they were missing.
Daylight shone in through the doorway, and they both froze in place; the weapons vault was full. In it were two racks of rifles, stacked on top of each other. One held twenty magnetic kinetic rifles, and the other held some type of laser
rifle. There was a rack of pistols of various types. There were three cases of flechette grenades and one of thermite. There were cases of ammunition and power clips for the rifles and pistols, and all the weapons looked to be in good shape, even if they were of a strange design and clearly not made in this system. Harmon couldn’t tell what system they had been made in, but he could tell what they were.
There were three upright containers on one side and three more against the back wall that looked like lockers. Five of the containers were not locked, so Clip opened them. The first three each held two sets of light battle armor that looked like it was designed for a humanoid race with four arms. The helmets looked like the ones Harmon had worn at the academy, but they were a little long in the face. The next container held a heavy battle suit—one that could be sealed against vacuum. It was also designed for a being with four arms. All the armor showed signs of wear, with scuffed helmets. The fifth container held shelves with three sizes of power cells on them. The largest power cells—four of them—were big enough to run a mech.
Harmon tried to force the handle open on the last container, thinking it may have gotten stuck over time, but it was locked and all he did was hurt his hand. The vault seemed like it had been closed for years.
With Your Shield Page 24