“The CNA fully understands that we could not have taken Portland without support from residents of Bangor and other towns across the state,” Houston continued. “We also understand that the Brigand partnership with the CNA would not have happened if certain rogue Brigands had not interrupted a CNA meeting and forced us to hear them out.”
People in the room shifted in their seats, and all eyes turned to Dani.
She lifted her eyes from Brody to see everyone staring at her.
“We all suffered a huge loss when Jace died,” Houston said.
Dani wasn’t sure what to say, assuming her voice would actually work even if she came up with something, so she just nodded.
“We’re converting one of the old airport hangars here into a center specifically for training CNA troops on the stealth techniques he taught us early on. Dani, we’d like you to help oversee the training regimens in his place.”
“Yeah, sure,” Dani said, though her voice sounded a pitch higher than normal.
“Great. Thank you.” Houston returned her attention to the greater crowd again. “The CNA has reinforced the Maine borders now that we’ve retaken the entire state. We’ll continue to hold Portland while we rebuild our supplies and weapons. The Wardens’ Research and Development division in Portland was working on groundbreaking tech that we’ve never seen before. We have that research now, and will continue to build upon it with our own engineers and scientists. We will also remain in Portland and reinforce her defenses.”
“When is the next attack on the Wardens?” Dani asked. Shit. Didn’t mean to say that out loud. She swallowed hard, wishing she hadn’t blurted out the question.
Houston shifted in her chair. “Next attack? We suffered heavy losses retaking Maine, Dani. We must conserve our troops and resources to defend—”
“No!” Dani burst out. “God. When will you people learn? We can’t just sit on our asses. The Wardens still control Canada. They also still have New Hampshire to our west and south. You think they’re going to conserve their troops?”
“No, but—”
“You think they won’t come at us from the east?”
“We’re planning for that event.”
“We have secured one fucking port, Colonel. One. How do you plan to get naval reserves in when we have one port? All the lobster boats in the world won’t be able to take on a Warden carrier.” Dani realized she was now standing directly in front of the table. She wasn’t sure when she’d left her spot against the wall to confront the colonel, but she was committed now.
“We can still defend—”
“Can you defend Portland and not lose one person? No. Defending only works if you never take any damage, which you can’t do. This is not the time to sit and regroup.”
Houston leaned forward in her seat. “What do you propose?”
“Rally more Brigands and bring in more CNA troops. Take the ports in New Brunswick and Quebec.”
“Canada?”
“Canada is still part of the Commonwealth of North America, right?” Dani asked.
Houston tightened her jaw.
“Start taking parts of Canada. Only then can we attempt to establish supply routes with other parts of the East Coast and the UK. Troops are spread out so thin across North America they can’t hold anything for long if the Wardens want to take it from them. Abandon non-strategic areas to take the important ones.”
“Bangor Brigands will be part of this offensive?” Houston asked.
“No.”
“So the CNA can do the rest of the fighting on our own?”
“Bangor—both CNA and Brigands—will have a different target.”
Houston laced her fingers together and stared at Dani. “Which target?”
“The largest city in New England.”
Several at the table with Houston gasped; some swore. But most of the Brigands seated and standing behind Dani murmured their support.
“You’re not serious.”
Dani didn’t answer. They had a deadline to end the war; everyone else just didn’t know it yet.
“Jesus, you’re insane,” Houston said, leaning back in her chair.
Hattie grinned and winked at Dani. “As Maine goes, so goes the world.”
Dani turned to face the room. “Portland was the first target, and we have many others to take before we’re done. We have a long fight ahead of us, but Boston will be ours again. It’s time for the Wardens to get the fuck off our planet.”
“Boston! Boston!” the crowd chanted.
“Won’t exactly be a sneak attack this time, with everyone knowing the target—not to mention how we took Portland,” Houston shouted to Dani over the noise.
Maybe she really was crazy. But her flicker of doubt disappeared when Miles appeared at her side and gave her left shoulder a reassuring squeeze. She felt a tug on her right hand, and found Oliver looking up at her from her other side with a smile on his face.
Dani squared her shoulders. “We’ll find another way in.”
“Boston?” Houston said. “Are you sure? What about Portsmouth instead?”
Dani grinned. “We’re retaking Boston.”
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I am forever grateful to my friends and family for their support during my writing adventures.
A special thank-you goes to my friend and adviser on military tactics for this novel, Major Mike Henderson, USMC, retired. He tackled the task to make sure I kept things as realistic as possible within the looser realms of futuristic science fiction.
Other test readers who provided invaluable feedback on the early draft of this book were James Lardie, Jennifer Thompson, Rebecca Hardman, and Chris Clements. I cannot thank you enough for your patience, time, and feedback.
Mainers, thank you for sharing your beautiful state with me. I’m proud to call myself a resident.
Thank you, the reader, for taking this adventure with me.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Cheryl Campbell was born in Louisiana and lived there and in Mississippi prior to moving to Maine. Her varied background includes art, herpetology, emergency department and critical care nursing, and computer systems. When not traveling as a nomadic wanderer, she lives in Maine, the place she calls home. Cheryl has won five awards through the New England Book Festival for her Burnt Mountain fantasy series.
Echoes of War is the first book of her new science fiction trilogy, Echoes.
To follow her blog, visit www.cherylscreativesoup.com or www.facebook.com/cherylscreativesoup.
SELECTED TITLES FROM SPARKPRESS
SparkPress is an independent boutique publisher delivering high-quality, entertaining, and engaging content that enhances readers’ lives, with a special focus on female-driven work. www.gosparkpress.com
Firewall: A Novel, Eugenia Lovett West. $16.95, 978-1-68463-010-3. When Emma Streat’s rich, socialite godmother is threatened with blackmail, Emma becomes immersed in the dark world of cybercrime—and mounting dangers take her to exclusive places in Europe and contacts with the elite in financial and art collecting circles. Through passion and heartbreak, Emma must fight to save herself and bring a vicious criminal to justice.
Resistant: A Novel, Rachael Sparks. $16.95, 978-1-943006-73-1. Bacteria won the war against our medicines. She might be evolution’s answer. But can she survive long enough to find out?
Ocean’s Fire: Book One in the Equal Night Trilogy, Stacey L. Tucker. $16.95, 978-1-943006-28-1. Once the Greeks forced their male gods upon the world, the belief in the power of women was severed. For centuries it has been thought that the wisdom of the high priestesses perished at the hand of the patriarchs—but now the ancient Book of Sophia has surfaced. Its pages contain the truths hidden by history, and the sacred knowledge for the coming age. And it is looking for Skylar Southmartin.
Alchemy’s Air: Book Two of the Equal Night Trilogy, Stacey L. Tucker. $16.95, 978-1-943006-84-7. Now that she’s passed her trial by fire, Skylar Southmartin has been entrusted with the ancient secrets of the Book of
Sophia. Ahead is her greatest mission to date: a journey to the Underworld to restore a vital memory to the Akashic Library that will bring her face to face with the darkness within.
Deepest Blue: A Novel, Mindy Tarquini. $16.95, 978-1-943006-69-4. In Panduri, everyone’s path is mapped, everyone’s destiny determined, their lives charted at birth and steered by an unwavering star. Everything there has its place—until Matteo’s older brother, Panduri’s Heir, crosses out of their world without explanation, leaving Panduri’s orbit in a spiral and Matteo’s course on a skid. Forced to follow an unexpected path, Matteo is determined to rise, and he pursues the one future Panduri’s star can never chart: a life of his own.
ABOUT SPARKPRESS
SparkPress is an independent, hybrid imprint focused on merging the best of the traditional publishing model with new and innovative strategies. We deliver high-quality, entertaining, and engaging content that enhances readers’ lives. We are proud to bring to market a list of New York Times best-selling, award-winning, and debut authors who represent a wide array of genres, as well as our established, industry-wide reputation for creative, results-driven success in working with authors. SparkPress, a BookSparks imprint, is a division of SparkPoint Studio LLC.
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