Earth Undefeated (Forgotten Earth Book 4)

by M. R. Forbes

  If only things could have stayed that simple.

  They didn't, of course. There were consequences to Tinker’s actions, and they stretched from Earth all the way to Proxima, making it impossible for Hayden to go home and enjoy being with his family again.

  First, there was the matter of the loss of Governor Malcolm and all of the territorial clerks. It was a massive blow to the fledgling United Western Front, a hit they could barely afford to take. Hayden was forced to rein in the fighters at the edge of the Eastern Expansion Zone, to call them back to the existing territories to both shore up their defenses and to allow more of the deputies to retreat to Sanisco.

  He was also left with no choice but to name Natalia the temporary Governor, even though she had no interest or desire to be a politician. He sure as hell wasn’t going to do it. Together, they organized a call for a new group of residents to be trained to take over the roles of the clerks. It was harder than it sounded because a lot of the people in the UWF had yet to become literate, and being a clerk meant working with words and numbers all day.

  Then there were the scars, both physical and emotional. The whole situation had taken a massive toll on him, and so did the compound. It didn’t kill him, and he was grateful for that, but it did leave him dead tired for nearly three days. If he could have slept it off, he would have. There was too much to do. Too much to organize and plan. He was a dead man walking, heavy on his feet, kept alert by Natalia’s prodding and Hallia’s boundless energy.

  He couldn’t help but think about the artifact and what he had seen on the other side. The death and destruction and waste. The creature that was so much more fearful than the trife would ever be. They were real, and they were out there somewhere. Would they ever find their way to Earth? He hoped not, but now that he knew they existed, he couldn’t help but be afraid they would.

  They had put the artifact back in the vault for safekeeping. They had sealed it and done their best to cover it up again. It was a hack job, and anyone who wandered into the hangar would see the rubble and maybe they would think to dig at it, but he was counting on nobody else going into the hangar. Everyone was off the Pilgrim. There was no reason for anyone to go back there. He was considering gathering enough explosive to take down the whole fucking mountain on top of her, and let her be discovered by some future life form thousands of years in the future.

  Still, the conflict with the Other in Edenrise haunted him, even more so after he had seen the matching robot in the vault. The USSF had done more than open the door. They had gone through it. Maybe they had spoken with the Others, or maybe they had gone in secret. Whatever had happened, he didn’t think it had ended well. He was sure he would never know the whole truth of the situation, but that was okay. He knew enough. He knew to appreciate every day with his family, because he knew each one could be the last, either for him or all of humankind.

  “Hayden, what are you thinking about?” Natalia asked.

  Her question broke him out of his head. He glanced over at her. “Monsters.”

  “Again?”

  He nodded. “Sometimes it’s hard not to. I wish I could unsee it.”

  “That other planet could be a thousand light years away. Ten thousand. Nothing’s changed since last week, except you’re back here with me.”

  He smiled and kissed the top of her head. “The best place to be.”

  They were standing in the field where Bennett had dropped Hayden to meet with his wife three weeks earlier. They were alone, leaning against the side of a car, waiting. The weather was clear. The sun was out. Three weeks ago, it would have been a perfect day.

  He knew the Centurions were coming long before the dropship appeared as a dark spot in the sky, dropping quickly toward the field. Natalia had done the math and timed their arrival, only off by an hour and change.

  A single ship came down, but Hayden was confident there were more starships further out, waiting for this one to report back. He was sure they had a lot of questions and would have a lot more since they’d likely discovered CSFNW was destroyed.

  The dropship slowed as it neared the ground, thrusters pushing hard against the grass. It touched down gently, the ramp lowering from its belly. Two squads of Centurion soldiers filed out, taking positions near the ship. Two more people followed them, one Hayden recognized dressed in civilian attire. The other in a stiff military uniform, its chest covered in hardware.

  Had someone from Proxima Command made the trip?

  Hayden took Natalia’s hand, and they crossed the field to meet the pair. Hayden couldn’t help smiling as he approached. It was a sad smile. He was happy to see Rico, and at the same time, it was his job to deliver the news.

  “Sheriff Duke,” Rico said, as they all came to a stop across from one another. “Mrs. Duke.” Formal for now. “I want to introduce—“

  “General Haeri,” the man said, holding out his hand. “Proxima Command.”

  “General,” Hayden replied, swallowing it in his replacement.

  Haeri looked down at Gus’ hand, trying to hide his amusement as they shook. He took Natalia’s hand next.

  “I’ll be blunt,” Haeri said. “What the fuck is going on down here?”

  “It’s a long story, General,” Hayden said. “I don’t know how much of it you want to hear. The bottom line is, we had a rogue state operating on the east coast, almost a cult if you will. Their leader made some trouble for you and me. They took out CSFNW.” He looked at Rico. “I’m sorry, but he also killed Bennett and his team.”

  Rico didn’t react. Not in front of the general. Haeri got it though.

  “Mrs. Duke, would you mind taking Rico back to the city to meet with the new Governor? She’s here on the civilian side of things.”

  “Of course, General,” Natalia said. “It just so happens the Governor is standing right here. Let’s go talk, Rico.”

  Natalia took Rico back to the car.

  “I don’t need every detail, Sheriff,” Haeri said, watching them walk out of earshot. “You’ve been a good friend to Proxima since we started working together, and I know you’re a man of your word. Is the threat neutralized?”

  Hayden’s mind drifted back to the creature that had come through the gate. As long as the artifact stayed secret, it is. “Yes, sir,” he replied.

  “Good. If you can write up a report for me, I’ll get it to our analysts so we can help make sure nothing like this happens again.”

  “Of course. So I can assume everything we agreed to with Bennett will still be honored?”

  “Absolutely.”

  “Thank you, General.”

  Haeri took Hayden’s hand again. “I’m going to leave Mrs. Bennett with you for a few days while I take my team up to the damaged site to see if there’s anything we can recover. It seems she could use a couple of friends right now.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Thank you Sheriff Duke, for all you do.”

  “You’re welcome.” Hayden reached into his pants pocket, withdrawing the rod Tinker had used to activate the artifact. “By the way, I think this belongs with you.”

  “What is it?”

  “What you were looking for. What Stacker took from you.”

  General Haeri shook his head. “I don’t understand?”

  Hayden had expected the general to react this way, but he was pretty sure he had figured out how things worked on Proxima. They wouldn’t have sent a general down just to talk to him, even if the Centurions did have an entire fleet somewhere in orbit. The Trust wasn’t a mythical crime syndicate. It was just another head for the same damn snake, one he had no choice but to rely on if he wanted to protect the people in his care.

  “I think you do,” he said, smiling and holding it out.

  General Haeri took it and tucked it into his pocket without another word. He nodded and then turned to head back to the dropship.

  “And tell General Stacker I said hello,” Hayden added before the general was out of earshot.

  Gene
ral Haeri boarded the dropship, and it lifted off a minute later, rising quickly out of sight. He knew where it was going. A few weeks from now, when they finished linking the comms systems through the Trust’s satellites, he would even be able to reach Nathan long before any visitors could.

  Hayden made his way back to the car, where Rico and Natalia were standing. Rico had tears in her eyes, and she approached him and embraced him without a word.

  “He saved my life,” Hayden said. “He died a hero.”

  Rico pulled away. “He was sent on a fool’s errand, and he died for nothing.”

  “Believe me; I saw what was waiting out there. We wouldn’t have stopped it without him.”

  “Did you give General Haeri the key?” Natalia asked.

  “Pozz.”

  “Did he admit it?”

  “No.”

  “What are you talking about?” Rico asked.

  “Come on,” Natalia said. “We’ll tell you on the way home.”

  “My home’s up there.”

  “When you’re here, your home is here with us.”

  “Right now, there’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”

  “Me neither,” Hayden said, putting his arm over Rico’s shoulders. “You haven’t met Hal yet, have you?”

  “Not yet.”

  “You’re going to love her.”

  “I’m sure I will.”

  Rico and Natalia got into the back seat of the car. Hayden slid into the front, started it up, and put it in gear.

  Home. Pozz that. There was nowhere in the universe he would rather be, and nothing more important to protect.

  55

  One week later…

  “How’s the link coming?” Nathan asked, entering Edenrise Central Command.

  “General Stacker. AH-TEN-SHUN!”

  The soldiers in the room quickly stopped what they were doing, coming to attention for him. That included Chandra, who slid out from beneath the main terminal and came to her feet, straight and proud.

  “As you were,” Nathan replied, letting them get back to their business.

  It had taken him three days to get back to Edenrise from the other side of the world, mainly due to the time it took the single refinery in the UWF to produce enough jet fuel to get the F-15 back across the continent. It hadn’t been wasted time, though. He had followed Hayden and Natalia around as they worked tirelessly to get their city and its people back on track and reorganized after the mess Tinker had left behind. He had always admired Sheriff Duke for his tenacity and his passion for doing the right thing, and the more he watched the man work, the more he realized that Hayden — not James — was the type of person he wanted to be.

  He had told Hayden as much before he left, and of course, the sheriff had responded with a sincere and convincing, “you already are.” The words had left him determined to do in the east what Hayden was doing in the west, and every minute since his arrival had been spent on holding that course.

  That didn’t mean there wasn’t a lot of work to do. The Other had created its own mess and left him operating on only a couple of hours of sleep at a time, grabbed in the small spaces of downtime when nobody was asking him for anything. If he weren’t a replica he would never have been able to survive that much deprivation, never mind think on so little rest. But the city needed him, and more than that, the regions around Edenrise needed him. It wasn’t enough to live behind a shield. It wasn’t enough to hide. Not anymore. The Others weren’t coming to save them. Neither was Proxima.

  They had to save themselves.

  “Chandra, what about the link?” he asked a second time.

  “I’ve got the first of the satellites responding,” she replied. “It’s not much, but it’s a start.”

  “Not much?” He smiled. “You said you couldn’t do comms.”

  She smiled back at him. “You learn something new every day, don’t you?”

  “I hope so.” He shifted his leg, feeling it twitching beneath his uniform.

  “Is it acting up on you again?” Chandra asked.

  “I’ll have time for you to look at it one of these days.”

  Nathan smacked the leg, and it settled down. James had shattered the leg beyond all hope of ever getting it back the way it was, and Nathan had decided he was better off with a replacement than living in pain. Fortunately, he already had one that was a perfect fit since James didn’t need it anymore. The botter who had installed it was serviceable, but he wasn’t Chandra. That surgery had led to what Hayden described as a crazy but perfect idea. One that had also seen him sacrifice an eye in the name of protecting the peace.

  Colonel Nathan Stacker had left Edenrise, but only General James Stacker had come back.

  “General Stacker, sir.” Nathan turned around. Sergeant Bower came to attention in front of him, holding an old tablet computer. “I have the inventory reports you asked for, sir.”

  “Thank you,” Nathan said, starting to reach for them.

  “Sir,” someone else said behind him. He turned around without taking the tablet, the tone of the soldier’s voice concerning. “We’re being hailed.”

  The Trust. He had been expecting to hear from them. “Open the comm.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “This is General Stacker,” Nathan said, forcing his confidence.

  “General, this is Haeri.”

  Nathan’s body shivered. General Haeri was a member of the Trust? Hayden had told him he thought the Trust and Proxima Command were intimately connected, but he hadn’t expected it to go that high up the chain of command. His jaw clenched, and he had to work to keep himself level. Was it Haeri who had ordered Niobe’s death? He had come to accept the reason she had died, and the danger in what she had died for. That didn’t make talking to her potential killer any easier.

  “Where the hell is Tinker?” Haeri said.

  “Dead,” Nathan replied, a little more harshly than he intended.

  “That’s a shame. He’s got a lot to answer for. The loss of one of my best teams. The destruction of a Centurion outpost without my authorization. The theft of classified information. Should I continue?”

  “No need,” Nathan said. “I’m aware of it all. I carried out the orders. You have my firm apologies, sir.”

  “Apologies? That’s not good enough James, and you ought to fucking know it.”

  “With all due respect, you know my hands were tied. I handled the problem as best I could, and I cleaned up the mess for you before you even arrived.”

  “Are you saying you were responsible for Tinker’s demise?”

  “Yes sir, with a little help. Don’t worry. Sheriff Duke doesn’t know anything about the syndicate.”

  “Oh, he does. He knows more than I would have guessed, but I’m sure he didn’t get that intel from you. He’s a sharp one, and we haven’t been keeping a close enough eye on him. I want you to stay close to him. Make a deeper connection. I want to be sure he doesn’t interfere with our interests. If he might, I want to know about it so we can deal with the problem before it becomes a problem. Do you understand?”

  “Of course. Does that mean you’re keeping me on?”

  “ I know how Stackers work. I can trust you more than I ever trusted Tinker, so in that case, I consider you an upgrade. Keep your end of our trade agreement and bury everything that happened over the last three weeks, and we can move forward without any more interruptions.”

  “It was never my intention to mess with our agreement. You can blame all of that on Tinker and his delusions of grandeur. He actually thought the data he stole from you would be useful. It was nothing more than—“

  “I don’t need to know what it was,” Haeri said, interrupting. “The less I know, the better. Our arrangement is working for us. It has been for years. Tinker took it for granted and got himself killed over it. End of story.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “A word of warning though, Stacker. Don’t fuck with the Trust again. Let your duplicate be a lesson i
n what happens to people who do.”

  “Of course, sir.”

  “You’ll have a transport incoming a week from today for the next shipment. Make sure it’s ready.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Thank you, James.”

  “Thank you, sir.”

  “Haeri out.”

  The comm link closed. Nathan breathed out, letting the tension fall away. Hayden had been right. No matter how many times they said otherwise, Proxima would never really care about the people of Earth, only what Earth could do for them.

  He realized at that moment that for everything he had been through, for all of the sadness and pain, the fear and anger, the confusion, the hallucinations, the loss of his wife, the loss of his leg, and the loss of his identity…

  He wouldn’t have it any other way.

  Thank you for reading Earth Undefeated

  I really hope you’ve enjoyed the book and the series as a whole. I’m sure you know what comes next if you did. Please leave a review. A short sentence, a star rating, and boom! you’re done. In less than a minute you can show your support, and by showing your support you can help me gauge interest in future installments featuring Sheriff Duke (and maybe Nathan Stacker too). I want to write more Sheriff Duke stories, but if I can’t sell them, I can’t justify them.

  You can do that here.

  I want to thank you for reading through to the end. I know there are a ton of options out there, and I’m grateful that you came back for more. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

  In case you were wondering - no, this isn’t the end of the Forgotten Worlds. In fact, if you head over to my website and join my mailing list, you’ll be the first to know when the next book in the universe is available (which won’t be long). If you haven’t read Sheriff Duke’s origin story yet, make sure you pick up Forgotten. You don’t need to have read it to enjoy the next series, but it will add some extra color you might not get otherwise.

  What is the next series? Find out in the next section of backmatter.

  If you’re already caught up in the Forgotten Worlds universe or you’re interested in any of my other books - there’s a more complete description in the next section of this book, or even better you can check out my backlist at mrforbes.com/books.