Star Glory (Empire Series Book 1) Page 25

  Behind the standing otter moved the black form of the Toka hunter cat. It squalled something. Smooth Fur’s whiskers went flat along its muzzle.

  “So you possess the antimatter beam, our magfield drive and our emissions cloak. It seems there is a traitor in our midst. Perhaps several,” the otter growled.

  “Perhaps several,” the captain agreed. “I welcome more target practice.”

  “You lost a ship!”

  The captain smiled toothily. He gestured down to Major Owanju. Who tapped his armrest control patch. In the system graphic the green dots of the three shuttles vanished. “You lost two ships. And the rest of my fleet has gone into emissions cloaking. Your four ships will not know where our ships are until they are fired on. Much as you attacked us. We are five against your four. And three of us you cannot detect. Bring it on.”

  The black-furred otter’s white stripes shimmered. The creature’s entire covering of fur now fluffed out, adding bulk to its image. Whether it was instinctive or intentional, the alien now appeared twice its original size. It gestured to the pink floating jellyfish.

  “Captain, the four Empire ships are turning away,” called XO Kumisov. “They are on track to reverse course and head back into the system.”

  Smooth Fur’s black eyes blinked slowly. “Human Skorzeny, you have committed a deadly error. First you lost two ships by declining my ritual offer to join the Empire as a Servant species. Now, you have lost a third ship. While I care not what happens to the Sendera remnants, you humans are now my prime objective. We will find your world Earth and its home star. Yellow stars are not that numerous in this part of Orion Arm.”

  The captain nodded slowly. “And while you are checking yellow star after yellow star, in all directions, this ship and other Earth ships will be striking your Empire bases within your part of Orion. The three moons at Kepler 33 will be our target. At a time of our choosing. Other trade worlds and other Empire ships will be targeted by humanity.” The captain smiled, but hid his teeth. It made for a ferocious smile. “Your Empire will be forced to divert ships to defense of your existing systems. Your commerce will be damaged. Stability of Empire culture, here in Orion Arm, will be harmed. Your expansion into the middle and upper part of this arm will be slowed or stopped.”

  Smooth Fur’s fur lowered. His muzzle whiskers, though, went flat. “The Empire has more ships than any species. We will find you humans.”

  The captain nodded. “That is a correct statement. Now. But we already have two species allies who have agreed to join us in fighting you. The Sendera and the Melanchon. As we find other refugees from your planet killing, they will find homes in our part of the arm. And they will provide ships to join ours in attacking your ships.” The captain gestured dismissively. “What will the Empire do when it encounters multiple ships able to enter emissions cloaking, as fast as Empire ships, and able to destroy Empire ships using antimatter beams?”

  Black eyes blinked. “Your ships will die. Your Earth will die. Other occupied worlds will die. There are a hundred billion worlds in Warm Swirl. A few less means nothing.”

  “Wrong!” yelled the captain, shocking me. “Every world with intelligent life is a gem to be treasured. Whether they join in our fight, or live apart from it, humans will treat every other species who is not part of the Empire as a lifeform to be respected.”

  “And that will be your undoing,” Smooth Fur said. “Over the 93,000 years of the Empire of Eternity we have learned that only species willing to work toward a common goal deserve to live. Those are the 14,331 species that make up the Empire. You humans are few. The Sendera and Melanchon are fewer. And we have all eternity in which to hunt you down.”

  Captain Skorzeny shook his head slowly. “Wrong. Time is not on your side. Traitors sold us your tech. Other traitors will eventually sell us the secret to the long range of your weapons. Oh, we also now can travel at 100 light years per day, just like any other Empire ship. Your advantages are already disappearing. We humans are a young species. Your Empire is aged. Everything aged eventually dies. I look forward to attending your funeral.”

  Smooth Fur stared at the captain for long moments. “We of the Empire do not observe funerals. We celebrate only victory over weaker species. Prepare to die.” The creature waved a paw. Its image vanished from the vidscreen.

  “Would you humans really share the secret of the antimatter weapon with us?” asked Random Thoughts.

  The captain lifted his right hand and rubbed his chin. Which showed a brown stubble. “I am willing to do that. But I answer to the Star Navy of humanity’s EarthGov ruling body. Whether to share the antimatter beamer tech with you and the Melanchon is up to EarthGov. Believe me, though, I will fight for you Sendera to get it. You fought beside us against the two Empire ships. Your fighting made a difference. I would welcome you as an ally species.”

  “Understood. We will continue to be your ally. You have our neutrino frequency. Contact us when your EarthGov makes its decision. Now, the Red Hope must join our other lineage ships. We need to find a new home.”

  “Well, we can help you with that.” The captain looked over to where Bjorg had sat, quiet as a fat mouse. “Doctor Bjorg, will you transmit the cleansed record of 294 stars with planets that exist in the upper part of Orion Arm to our friends?”

  “I would, but I do not have that data at my station,” the Swede rumbled. He tapped his armrest. “Doctor Murphy, please respond.”

  Another image showed on the vidscreen. My brown-eyed friend looked out from her office. Piles of dataslates and record tablets adorned her desk. The nicely fit gymnast smiled. “I was following the Bridge conversation.” She reached out, grabbed a tablet, then pressed its surface. “The star record we shared with the Melanchon and raider chief Tik-long has been uploaded to Heidi. Sir.” She gave the captain and Bjorg an amateur salute. Which went nicely with the blue and gray camos she wore.

  “Thank you, Doctor Murphy.” The captain looked up at the ceiling. “Heidi, transmit the star and planet record to Random Thoughts.”

  “Records transmitted,” the AI said brightly, her feminine tone sounding loud-hearted.

  The blue and green-skinned chameleon swung both eyes downward to the pedestal plate in front of him. Then up. “The records are received. Appreciation is too little. Would the gift of a lineage Breeder repay this human generosity?”

  “No need,” the captain said. “Just use those records to find a new home world among the red dwarf stars uparm in Orion. There are plenty of such stars, nearly all of which have planets. Once your colony is planted, call this ship on our neutrino frequency. We will find a way to visit your world. And perhaps some Sendera will visit Earth in the future.”

  “We will do as you suggest. Until we share a shoreline once more.”

  The image of the Sendera captain disappeared. Leaving the vidscreen filled only with the system graphic, the Bridge image and the departing image of the Red Hope. I licked my lips. Then I looked up at the thick tube that conveyed antimatter to Bill’s beamer block. The rainbow shimmer was perfect. Bright, sharp and stable. As were the nine vertical rainbow tubes that fed antimatter to our thrusters. Which were now pushing us into a long elliptical vector track that would eventually take us out to the edge of this system’s magnetosphere. Our arrival point would not be on the side where Sol lay. Which meant the captain could point the ship’s bow toward Sol, tell us to engage Alcubierre and we would once more enter the grayness of FTL transit. And the Empire ships, located in the inner part of Kepler 445, would not know what direction we were headed. And if they assumed Sol was located in the direction of our ship’s last position, so much the better. They would waste time and effort searching in the wrong direction.

  “PO Stewart,” called the captain. “Your shuttle fleet solution to our arrival among too many Empire ships was outstanding. As was your pretend cloaking idea. You are hereby promoted to chief petty officer. Don’t spend it all in one place. Like the Mess Hall.”

  I
laughed. Chief O’Connor let loose a giant guffaw. Dolores Gambuchino, Cindy, Gus and Duncan also laughed loudly. On the vidscreen dear Cassie chuckled, then pointed at me.

  “Hey steakman! You are buying for our entire table tonight!”

  That would include dear Evelyn, and still alive Warren. We would be joined by Bill and Oksana. And who knew who else might show up, demanding a free beer or tequila shot? Tonight I would buy rounds for our entire table and for anyone else who gave me a smile.

  We had survived attacks by the Empire of Eternity. We had met two alien species who were on the way to being allies of humanity. We had had a good time at the pirate base run by Tik-long. Who knew what else we might find on our next trip into deep space? I sure didn’t. But beyond my friends, I realized my Mom and my sisters Anna and Louise would be part of my return home. In truth, everyone on the Star Glory had someone to look forward to seeing. That felt good. It felt real. It felt human.

  The future and fighting the Empire could wait. What mattered most to me and everyone else was pulling our ship into home anchorage, even if that was an orbit 300 miles above the blue oceans of Earth. But I would bring home memories of incredible adventures. And going home to Castle Rock, with me, would be Evelyn. My Mom and sisters deserved to meet her. And she deserved to meet them. We were a together couple. I hoped we would be such for the rest of our lives.

  THE END

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  T. Jackson King (Tom) is a professional archaeologist, journalist and retired Hippie. He learned early on to question authority and find answers for himself, thanks to reading lots of science fiction. He also worked at a radiocarbon dating laboratory at UC Riverside and UCLA. Tom attended college in Paris and Tokyo. He is a graduate of UCLA (M.A. 1976, archaeology) and the University of Tennessee (B.Sc. 1971, journalism). He has worked as an archaeologist in the American Southwest and has traveled widely in Europe, Russia, Japan, Canada, Mexico and the USA. Other jobs have included short order cook, hotel clerk, legal assistant, telephone order taker, investigative reporter and newspaper editor. He also survived the warped speech-talk of local politicians and escaped with his hide intact. Tom writes hard science fiction, anthropological scifi, dark fantasy/horror and contemporary fantasy/magic realism. Tom’s novels are MOTHER WARM (2017), BATTLECRY (2017), SUPERGUY (2016), BATTLEGROUP (2016), BATTLESTAR (2016), DEFEAT THE ALIENS (2016), FIGHT THE ALIENS (2016), FIRST CONTACT (2015), ESCAPE FROM ALIENS (2015), ALIENS VS. HUMANS (2015), FREEDOM VS. ALIENS (2015), HUMANS VS. ALIENS (2015), GENECODE ILLEGAL (2014), EARTH VS. ALIENS (2014), ALIEN ASSASSIN (2014), THE MEMORY SINGER (2014), ANARCHATE VIGILANTE (2014), GALACTIC VIGILANTE (2013), NEBULA VIGILANTE (2013), SPEAKER TO ALIENS (2013), GALACTIC AVATAR (2013), STELLAR ASSASSIN (2013), STAR VIGILANTE (2012), THE GAEAN ENCHANTMENT (2012), LITTLE BROTHER’S WORLD (2010), ANCESTOR’S WORLD (1996, with A.C. Crispin), and RETREAD SHOP (1988, 2012). His short stories appeared in JUDGMENT DAY AND OTHER DREAMS (2009). His poetry appeared in MOTHER EARTH’S STRETCH MARKS (2009). Tom lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA with his wife Sue. More information on Tom’s writings can be found at www.tjacksonking.com/.

  PRAISE FOR T. JACKSON KING’S BOOKS

  EARTH VS. ALIENS

  “This story is the best space opera I've read in many years. The author knows his Mammalian Behavior. If we’re lucky it’ll become a movie soon. Many of the ideas are BRAND NEW and I loved the adaptability of people in the story line. AWESOME!!”—Phil W. King, Amazon

  “It’s good space opera. I liked the story and wanted to know what happened next. The characters are interesting and culturally diverse. The underlying theme is that humans are part of nature and nature is red of tooth and claw. Therefore, humans are naturally violent, which fortunately makes them a match for the predators from space.”—Frank C. Hemingway, Amazon

  STAR VIGILANTE

  “For a fast-paced adventure with cool tech, choose Star Vigilante. This is the story of three outsiders. Can three outsiders bond together to save Eliana's planet from eco-destruction at the hands of a ruthless mining enterprise?” –Bonnie Gordon, Los Alamos Daily Post

  STELLAR ASSASSIN

  “T. Jackson King’s Stellar Assassin is an ambitious science fiction epic that sings! Filled with totally alien lifeforms, one lonely human, an archaeologist named Al Lancaster must find his way through trade guilds, political maneuvering and indentured servitude, while trying to reconcile his new career as an assassin with his deeply-held belief in the teachings of Buddha. . . This is a huge, colorful, complicated world with complex characters, outstanding dialogue, believable motivations, wonderful high-tech battle sequences and, on occasion, a real heart-stringer . . . This is an almost perfectly edited novel as well, which is a bonus. This is a wonderful novel, written by a wonderful author . . .Bravo! Five Stars!” –Linell Jeppsen, Amazon

  LITTLE BROTHER’S WORLD

  “If you’re sensing a whiff of Andre Norton or Robert A. Heinlein, you’re not mistaken . . . The influence is certainly there, but Little Brother’s World is no mere imitation of Star Man’s Son or Citizen of the Galaxy. Rather, it takes the sensibility of those sorts of books and makes of it something fresh and new. T. Jackson King is doing his part to further the great conversation of science fiction; it’ll be interesting to see where he goes next.”–Don Sakers, Analog

  “When I’m turning a friend on to a good writer I’ve just discovered, I'll often say something like, “Give him ten pages and you’ll never be able to put him down.” Once in a long while, I'll say, “Give him five pages.” It took T. Jackson King exactly one sentence to set his hook so deep in me that I finished LITTLE BROTHER’S WORLD in a single sitting, and I’ll be thinking about that vivid world for a long time to come. The last writer I can recall with the courage to make a protagonist out of someone as profoundly Different as Little Brother was James Tiptree Jr., with her remarkable debut novel UP THE WALLS OF THE WORLD. I think Mr. King has met that challenge even more successfully. His own writing DNA borrows genes from writers as diverse as Tiptree, Heinlein, Norton, Zelazny, Sturgeon, Pohl, and Doctorow, and splices them together very effectively.” –Spider Robinson, Hugo, Nebula and Campbell Award winner

  “Little Brother's World is a sci-fi novel where Genetic Engineering exists. . . It contains enough details and enough thrills to make the book buyers/readers grab it and settle in for an afternoon read. The book is well-written and had a well-defined plot . . . I never found a boring part in the story. It was fast-paced and kept me entertained all throughout. The characters are fascinating and likeable too. This book made me realize about a possible outcome, when finally science and technology wins over traditional ones. . . All in all, Little Brother’s World is another sci-fi novel from T. Jackson King that is both exciting, thrilling and fun. Full of suspense, adventure, romance, secrets, conspiracies, this book would take you in a roller-coaster ride.” –Abby Flores, Bookshelf Confessions

  THE MEMORY SINGER

  “A coming of age story reminiscent of Robert A. Heinlein or Alexei Panshin. Jax [the main character] is a fun character, and her world is compelling. The social patterns of Ship life are fascinating, and the Alish’Tak [the main alien species] are sufficiently alien to make for a fairly complex book. Very enjoyable.”—Don Sakers, Analog Science Fiction

  “Author T. Jackson King brings his polished writing style, his knowledge of science fiction ‘hardware,’ and his believable aliens to his latest novel The Memory Singer. But all this is merely backdrop to the adventures of Jax Cochrane, a smart, rebellious teen who wants more from life than the confines of a generational starship. There are worlds of humans and aliens out there. When headstrong Jax decides that it’s time to discover and explore them, nothing can hold back this defiant teen. You’ll want to accompany this young woman . . in this fine coming-of-age story.”—Jean Kilczer, Amazon

  RETREAD SHOP

  “Engaging alien characters, a likable protagonist, and a vividly realized world make King’s first sf novel a good purchas
e for sf collections.”–Library Journal

  “A very pleasant tour through the author’s inventive mind, and an above average story as well.”–Science Fiction Chronicle

  “Fun, with lots of outrageously weird aliens.”—Locus

  “The writing is sharp, the plotting tight, and the twists ingenious. It would be worth reading, if only for the beautiful delineations of alien races working with and against one another against the background of an interstellar marketplace. The story carries you . . . with a verve and vigor that bodes well for future stories by this author. Recommended.”–Science Fiction Review

  “For weird aliens, and I do mean weird, choose Retread Shop. The story takes place on a galactic trading base, where hundreds of species try to gain the upper hand for themselves and for their group. Sixteen year-old billy is the sole human on the Retread Shop, stranded when his parents and their shipmates perished. What really makes the ride fun are the aliens Billy teams up with, including two who are plants. It's herbivores vs. carnivores, herd species vs. loners, mammals vs. insects and so on. The wild variety of physical types is only matched by the extensive array of cultures, which makes for a very entertaining read.” –Bonnie Gordon, Los Alamos Daily Post

  “Similar in feel to Roger Zelazny's Alien Speedway series is Retread Shop by T. Jackson King. It's an orphan-human-in-alien-society-makes-good story. Well-written and entertaining, it could be read either as a Young Adult or as straight SF with equal enjoyment.” –Chuq Von Rospach, OtherRealms 22

  “If you liked Stephen Goldin’s Jade Darcy books duo, and Julie Czerneda’s Clan trilogy, then you will probably like Retread Shop since it too has multiple aliens, an eatery, and an infinity of odd events that range from riots, to conspiracy, to exploring new worlds and to alien eating habits . . . It’s a fun reader's ride and thoroughly entertaining. And, sigh, I wish that the author would write more books set in this background.” –Lyn McConchie, co-author of the Beastmaster series