by J. N. Chaney
He didn’t answer, too busy shutting down the power in hopes a new cycle would work. I swore again and swung back to fire another burst of hellfire into the mobile armor in hopes of stopping its advance. It didn’t look good and inside I cursed Vick for being such a tool.
“How much time do you need before you can try again, Davon?”
“One minute,” he called back. “It’s almost ready.”
“Jace,” Abigail said urgently. “He’s already almost to the door.”
“I know!” We didn’t have a minute. We might not have another thirty seconds. Something in another part of the hangar roared, making my stomach drop. Had the other hostile gotten past Rackham? It got louder and I realized it wasn’t a Celestial at all. It was an engine.
A transport vehicle hurtled across the hangar, swerving under and around ships as it went. Fire erupted from a mounted gun on the rear of the transport and struck the mobile armor in the back. The Celestial lurched from the sudden impact and spun to fire back. The vehicle veered off and I got a good look at the driver and passenger.
Freddie and Petra. I should have known. “Freddie, you son of a bitch! Where have you been?”
“Sorry, Captain,” he replied, sounding sheepish. “I tried to hurry!”
The Celestial didn’t follow, apparently deciding Freddie wasn’t worth it.
“He didn’t take the bait,” said Abigail.
“Copy that, we’re coming back,” said Petra.
I watched as they circled back around and began firing again. The ship came closer through the hangar, aimed like a spear at the place where the Celestial had planted itself.
“Careful, Fred,” I warned. “If you get too close—”
In a flash of movement, the Celestial spun and swiped at the vehicle. He missed the passenger and driver, but tore through the side of the ship. The kid had to swerve again to narrowly avoid hitting a pile of scrap and finally lost control. Petra’s screech could be heard throughout the hangar. The vehicle spun out and crashed headlong into the side of a strike vessel, flipping it on its side in a cloud of billowing smoke.
“Freddie, Petra, talk to me,” I ordered, fear gripping my throat that threatened to crack my voice.
After a long beat, they responded. “We’re fine,” he replied, coughing hard.
Relief sang through me at the sound of his voice and I grinned inside my helmet. Who knew he had it in him? Freddie and his future wife had just bought us precious time and I hoped Davon’s shoddy pulse cannon didn’t squander it.
As if he heard my thoughts, Davon signaled on the comm. “Pulse cannon armed, Captain. Firing in 3, 2, 1.”
I held my breath, waiting to see what would happen.
A thump sounded from my left. I winced as the blast slapped out and collided at close range with the mobile armor. The creature stopped short, limbs jerking uncontrollably. The hydraulics housed in the knees buckled as they sparked before one final spasm, taking it down and collapsing the machine. The suit lay still except for some twitching.
“Thank gods,” murmured Abigail for only me to hear. “That was starting to take a bad turn.”
I nearly agreed with her when the Celestial phased, completely disappearing before resurfaced a few meters away, crawling on all fours.
“No!” shouted Abigail.
He phased again, and when his body flickered back, he was already at the door to the transport room. I sprinted after him, hefting my rifle and firing as I went. The next phase took it through the wall and inside. I was ten seconds behind, trying to close the distance.
The door opened for me and I shot inside to see the Celestial drive a fuse into place. I raised the rifle again, only to hear it click itself empty.
The pillars powered up, washing the Celestial’s broken body in a bright light that glinted off the pockmarked armor. More out of frustration than belief that it could actually work, I unclipped the rifle and chucked it at my target. It got stuck in an orb of energy that encased the pillars, or what I assumed was energy, that pulsed and grew brighter until its final apex. The orb went still for one instant, then exploded in a burst of light that reminded me of a slip tunnel.
The half of the rifle that didn’t get caught clattered to the ground noisily, severed, as though by a blade.
The Celestial was gone, and the copy of Athena’s memories with it.
Epilogue
“Captain Jace Hughes, thank you for agreeing to meet with me,” Carl said, inclining his head graciously.
A few days had passed since the Celestial had managed to escape with what we eventually confirmed was a copy of Athena. Rackham and his team had managed to take out the remaining Celestials, though there were very few of them left on Tartarus. Carl helped in this, much to my thanks, but it was a bittersweet revelation. The copy of Athena’s drives was gone, likely on its way to these so-called Primus that Carl spoke of, who would do gods-knew-what with it.
I scrubbed at my face and sent the Celestial Cognitive an annoyed look. “I already told you, Carl. Hughes is just fine.”
“Of course. I will call you Hughes from this point forward,” the bald Cognitive assured me.
Sigmond and Dressler were working on Athena nonstop to fix the corruption, with occasional help from Carl. He would have been more involved if he didn’t have his own modifications and system repairs to deal with.
“Hughes, I must apprise you of my fears,” he said grimly.
That didn’t sound good. Why couldn’t anyone ever call me for good news? What I wouldn’t give for someone to request a meeting and just hand me a coffee or a bag of rock candies. I didn’t think that was too much to ask.
“The other Celestials will return when the truth of what happened here is discovered,” Carl continued. “We cannot stay in this location. Not if you and your people wish to live.”
Crossing my arms, I leaned back against the wall of the meeting room. “What do you suggest? Prepare for a defense with the ships in storage? Form a defensive barrier around the planet?”
The bald Celestial shook his head. “No, that wouldn’t work in our favor.”
“Hey, we’ve been doing pretty good for the most part,” I replied.
Carl waved a hand in apology. “It has nothing to do with your tenacity and strategy,” he said. “But the Celestials can and will bring enough firepower to destroy Tartarus. No one, myself included, will be able to stop it.”
“So, what do you suggest we do?” I asked, ready for any ideas.
“I would advise moving Tartarus somewhere else in the cosmos,” he said, simply.
“Okay, I’ll bite. Where could we go?” I asked.
Carl flicked his wrist and a star system I’d never seen before graced the display. “This area is safe. The Primus have no interest in it. It is, according to their reasoning, benign. Does this appease you, Hughes?”
I was already regretting telling the Cognitive to call me Hughes. “That’s a nice piece of galactic realty you have there, but how do you propose we get there? What with all the issues Tartarus has, I thought we weren’t travel-worthy.”
The last time I’d seen the repair list, it had been a mile long and slow going. A team of engineers hailing from each nation were fixing the physical aspects and troubleshooting as they went. Tedious work, but necessary.
Carl beamed, easing some of my tension. “You are correct, Hughes. We weren’t travel worthy. The drive core has been fixed.”
“Fixed?” I asked.
“Yes, as of a few hours ago, actually,” he assured me.
“And that means we can move this hulking beast of a ship?” I asked.
He flicked his wrist once more and the display changed again. “Shall I initiate the sequence?” he asked.
“Initiate?” I replied. “Right now?”
He blinked, and in that moment a rift that must have been three times the size of the one in Earth’s core opened in the dark space near Tartarus. It split, like a wound from a knife, revealing the emerald gree
n of the slip within. Lightning cracked and tore through the massive inner walls in such a way that I could scarcely believe the size of it.
“By the gods,” I muttered.
There was a short stretch of silence before Carl looked at me, his eyes lingering as he waited for the order. “By your command, Captain Jace Hughes,” he said. “Are you ready to proceed?”
* * *
JACE, ABIGAIL, and LEX will return in RENEGADE ALLIANCE, coming September, 2019.
For more updates on this series, be sure to join the Facebook Group, “J.N. Chaney’s Renegade Readers.”
Read on for a special note from the author.
Author Notes
Renegade Rising has finally been released and brings with it another step forward in the ever expanding Renegade Universe.
We’ve seen the power of the Celestials firsthand and learned more about their society, though there are still mysteries to discover and solve. Thanks to Carl, we also have a brand new means of traversing the galaxy, which will lead Jace and the crew to new, uncharted worlds that are full of ancient history. If you’ve been wondering about the origins of the Celestials and how they evolved to be what they are, get ready for the next entry in the series, because we’re going to dive deep into that rabbit hole.
I’ve also been working on several new stories, including The Messenger, Resonant Son, and Ruins of the Galaxy, all of which you can currently find on Amazon.
If you haven’t joined the Renegade Readers Facebook group, be sure to sign up so you can join in on some of the livestreams I’ve been doing recently. In those, I answer questions about everything from the books to video games to movies. I try to answer every single question that I’m asked. I also use these as an opportunity to do book giveaways, so if you want to grab a signed copy of something, chime in and join one of the streams.
The Renegade Universe is always expanding, and you can find out everything that’s been released and where it falls in the timeline by going to http://jnchaney.com/renegade-star-series/. There’s a timeline available for anyone curious about where everything falls, but it’s also an easy way to track what’s been released.
I hope you’ll stay tuned for Renegade Alliance, which is coming in just a month. I’ve been hard at work on it in recent weeks and I can’t wait to share where the story is headed. Thank you as always for sticking with Jace on this insane adventure. Gods know he needs all the help he can get for what’s about to come.
Thanks for reading,
J.N. Chaney
PS. Amazon won’t tell you when the next Renegade book will come out, but there are several ways you can stay informed.
1) Fly on over to the Facebook group, JN Chaney’s Renegade Readers, and say hello. It’s a great place to hang with other sarcastic sci-fi readers who don’t mind a good laugh.
2) Follow me directly on Amazon. To do this, head to the store page for this book (or my Amazon author profile) and click the Follow button beneath my picture. That will prompt Amazon to notify you when I release a new book. You’ll just need to check your emails.
3) You can join my mailing list by clicking here. This will allow me to stay in touch with you directly, and you’ll also receive a free copy of The Amber Project.
Doing one of these or all three (for best results) will ensure you know every time a new entry in the Renegade Star series is published. Please take a moment to do one of these so you’ll be able to join Jace, Abigail, and Lex on their next galaxy-spanning adventure.
Renegade Star Universe
The Renegade Star Universe
Click the titles below to reach the book’s Amazon page
The Renegade Star Series
They say the Earth is just a myth. Something to tell your children when you put them to sleep, the lost homeworld of humanity. Everyone knows it isn't real, though. It can't be.
But when Captain Jace Hughes encounters a nun with a mysterious piece of cargo and a bold secret, he soon discovers that everything he thought he knew about Earth is wrong. So very, very wrong.
Climb aboard The Renegade Star and assemble a crew, follow the clues, uncover the truth, and most importantly, try to stay alive.
The Last Reaper Series
When a high value scientist is taken hostage inside the galaxy's most dangerous prison, Halek Cain is the only man for the job.
The last remaining survivor of the Reaper program, Hal is an unstoppable force of fuel and madness. A veteran amputee-turned-cyborg, he has a history of violence and a talent for killing that is unmatched by any soldier.
With the promise of freedom as his only incentive, he’ll stop at nothing to earn back his life from the people who made him, imprisoned him, and were too afraid to let him die.
The Orion Colony Series
Humanity’s Exodus is about to begin.
When half of mankind revolts and demands more opportunity, those at the top decide on a compromise: they will build the first colony ships and allow those who are willing to discover new worlds to leave and start over.
Twelve ships are built, the first of which is called Orion. Many are eager to go, but only one hundred thousand are chosen for each vessel. Far from Earth, a new life awaits, and it promises the prosperity they’ve always wanted.
But still, resistance stirs, eager to sabotage this new expansion effort, threatening the promise of a new life. As Orion moves through the void of space, towards a distant world, its passengers must fight for survival in an unprecedented conflict.
Win or lose, their future will be forever changed.
The Fifth Column Series
After a soldier is left for dead, Eva Delgado's life begins to unravel.
The truth of what happened remains a mystery, and the government will stop at nothing to keep it buried.
Together with the unit's medic, Eva finds herself branded a terrorist and enemy of the State, hunted by two opposing governments.
When the pair uncover a plot that could have ramifications for the whole galaxy, they know they have to act, but it will take all of their training, cunning and just a bit of luck to do what no one else has achieved.
But what do you do when every secret begets another? And how far will you go to find the truth?
* * *
Nameless (Abigail’s Story)
Abigail and Clementine were just a couple of orphans looking for a home.
But when the two girls witness something terrible, they have no choice but to leave their orphanage and go into hiding. The only person willing to take them in is a man named Mulberry, but his home isn't the safest place for two innocent children.
Abigail and Clementine quickly discover that their new caretaker is the head of a guild of assassins, and the two are thrown into a whole new world of danger. To survive, they'll need to adapt, focus, and learn how to survive in a world of killers.
The Constable (Alphonse’s Story)
My name is Alphonse Malloy, and I see everything.
From a simple glance, I know your hobbies, what you ate for breakfast, how well you slept, and whether or not your wife is secretly seeing the high school biology teacher when you're not around.
I can't explain how or why I get these feelings, only that I know they're true.
All the little secrets you're too afraid to tell.
Sometimes, that means helping people. Other times, it means staring down the barrel of a loaded gun.
I wish I could tell you I was using this ability for good.
I wish I could tell you a lot of things.
* * *
The Constable Returns
Alphonse Malloy may just be the smartest man alive.
A year has passed since Alphonse joined the Constables, but his work is only just beginning. In order to graduate and achieve full Constable status, Alphonse will need to complete one final mission.
When new information about an old enemy arises, Al and his mentor Dorian must head deep into the Deadlands in search of answers.
But
in a galaxy of secrets, the truth is often more elusive than it seems.
As the search continues, Alphonse's talents will be pushed to their absolute limit, and he'll need everything he's learned to make it out of this one alive.
Warrior Queen (Lucia’s Story)
On a lost world, far removed from Earth, a group of humans struggle to survive.
Two thousand years after their ancestors lost control of a hidden genetics research facility, the descendants of mankind have been reduced to a tribe of two hundred survivors. They fight, kill, and die in an endless cycle, all in the hope that things will get better.
Lucia is one of these colonists and the daughter of the tribe's leader, the Director. Together with several other candidates, she must soon undergo a trial to decide her father's replacement. The winner will shape the future of the entire colony.
But the trial is dangerous, meant to test each candidate's wits and strengths to see who is truly worthy. To claim victory, Lucia will need to venture out into the tunnels near the city to search for lost artifacts known as Cores--small but powerful devices capable of harnessing endless energy.