Relentless: Book One of the Union Warship Saga Read online

  Relentless

  Book One of the Union Warship Saga

  Scott Mullins

  Copyright © 2017 Scott Mullins

  All rights reserved.

  Relentless

  Showing or promising no abatement of severity, intensity, strength, or pace. Remaining strict or determined.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  I would like to thank my wife and children for putting up with me while I wrote Relentless. Thanks to each and every one who has believed in me and this book. I would like to thank my test readers who have read various versions since inception. With a special thank you to Bruce McCulloch who read the entire first draft.

  Prologue

  Balin Tor V was a sparkling gem. No lights shone on the night side as the sun rose on the horizon. Two dark colored moons, Tiberous and Oricon, orbited radiating a purplish glow that cast on the hull of the Enteritor. A symbol was painted on the hull, a wreath with large leaves encircling a sapling. A seam of light sprung into being as launch bay doors opened in its side and released a spacecraft.

  A shuttle departed the hangar bay and glided gently into the atmosphere casting off flares of heat as it descended. It was a reflective dark gray like the ship in orbit and bore the same name. The front of the shuttle was dominated by the windscreen. Long nacelles that doubled as landing skids started just behind the canopy.

  Below the cloud cover brilliant blue oceans stretched over the majority of the planet, deep green forests blanketed the continents. The shuttle crossed a string of snow covered mountains and descended low over the tree tops of a large land mass in the northern hemisphere. Bird like creatures flew from the canopy in large flocks as the shuttle passed. The sun glared off the windscreen as in spun sideways and descended in to a clearing in the forest just as dawn broke above the horizon.

  On the ground people bustled about in the clearing. Several dome like structures dotted the landscape. Pins full of strange animals lined the southern tree line. Children weaved about between them playing tag. The adults all wore uniforms of dark gray with a white strip down the sides encompassing the sleeves of both arms, the right one of which had a patch on the shoulder matching the capital ship far above. Several people came out of domes as the shuttle touched down on the edge of the settlement.

  The rear hatch of the shuttle opened into the air. The pilot emerged. He was in his mid-twenties, warm expression, olive skin and clean shaven. He wore the jumpsuit of a space pilot. He pulled the helmet lock ring from around his neck and hung it inside the shuttle door. He looked to the sky where several people pointed. They wanted him to see the bright blue supergiant, Rigel, which dominated the night sky. It was so bright it could even be seen during the day. He nodded his approval with a smile and made his way to the largest dome rubbing a blonde, teenage boys head along the way. There was a chill in the morning air.

  The door to the dome served as an airlock. The same dome unit could be used on airless worlds if the need arose. Inside was the ground control center. It was lined with monitors and work stations that were receiving information relayed from research stations scattered about the planet.

  “Welcome to Paradisus,” said a stout well groomed, dark haired man with a goatee. He was standing in the center of the room. “I’m Dion Lang, the director here, you must be my new pilot. We do appreciate you volunteering.”

  “Yes. Ryan Anders. It’s quite the place you have here, spectacular views,” he said as they shook hands.

  “Absolutely breathtaking. How was your trip?” he asked sounding genuinely interested.

  “It was good. The Enteritor must have large capacitors, it didn’t take as many jumps to get here as I had figured.”

  “He was designed specifically to set up colonies. Union Command gave him to us. He dropped us off a month or so ago, this is his second trip. Let me show you around.” He looked to a technician, “Get the new tracking station set up. I want it ready when Enteritor launches the satellite network.”

  “Yes sir,” the young wavy haired man replied.

  They exited the dome and walked around the camp as Mr. Lang described the layout and function of various domes. Each dome had its own lavatory and shower regardless of primary function. They had a communal dining hall where all members of the colony took their meals.

  “We are sharing barracks right now but with your arrival we will start setting up individual housing units,” he explained. He led him to the pins where the animals were kept.

  The creatures inside resembled reptilian chickens. The color of their textured leathery skin ranged from orange to brown. Instead of wings they had stubby arms like that of a tyrannosaurus.

  “Are they dangerous?”

  “They don’t seem to be. Eyes, on the sides of the head, means they are prey not predators. Predators have forward facing eyes. None have shown any signs of aggression and they taste fantastic, better than chicken and they lay eggs too. Kuto we call them. And those over there, tanar,” he said. The animals in the pin beside them had large udders. They were similar to Earth based cattle such as goats or cows in many ways. “We imagine in time they will be a large domestic food source.” He started walking back towards the operations dome. “We have five out stations around the globe and part of your job will be taking supplies to those research stations.”

  They passed what Ryan assumed were food processing units with prepared kuto hanging in them. Playing children bumped into him as they ran pass. On the other side lay the beginnings of a garden with sprouts protruding from the multitude of rows. Several workers milled about. The sun was out now and the mornings chill had started to fade. The camp was strong with the odors of new plastic, smoke and hay.

  “The satellite infrastructure should be in place by noon,” Ryan told him. “Should make communication with the out stations easier. They will warn of possible threats that may enter the system as well.”

  “With the treaty we don’t really expect any dangerous visitors. We have been eyeing this world for quite some time but dared not colonize this far out with war going on. We should be fine.”

  “The capability is there whether we need it or not in a passive fashion. The supply drops will be arriving soon as well.” He glanced at his timepiece. “They will arrive within the hour, thirty minutes apart I think.”

  The supply drops were automated delivery vehicles coordinated by the Enteritor’s SI. The drop vehicles were roughly rectangular shapes that had a four sided cone nose with rectangular engines at each corner. They were attached to the body by adjustable arms so they could direct thrust independently. Under the main body was a detachable two meter cube containing the supplies. They dropped out of the sky and deployed braking thrusters as they approached the drop site. A beacon on the ground guided them in. When it detected touch down it released the cargo container and rocketed back into the sky.

  Ryan was excited about this place, Paradisus, Paradise. He was looking forward to hard work helping to establishing this new world so far from home. He had no ties to leave behind, his parents had died long ago. He had graduated from the academy in the top of his class for piloting a few years earlier. When his service was over he looked for something meaningful to do with his life. Paradisus seemed to fit the bill. Shortly after lunch, word came that the satellite network was up and running. He found kuto was delicious with a side of tubers and local vegetables. He was going to like it here.

  Sometime just before dawn the next day the intrusion detection grid sounded the alarm. An unidentified ship had entered the system close to Balin Tor V. A young technician with a baby face named Toby entered the dormitory to rouse the director.

  �
��Sir we have a situation.” The director sat up rubbing the sleep from his eyes. “An unidentified ship has entered the system and is approaching from Tiberous. Enteritor says it has no transponder and isn’t emitting a signal of any kind and he cannot identify its signature.”

  The conversation woke Anders as well. “What’s going on?” he asked. The director relayed the situation.

  “Seems like we needed those relays after all,” the director said to Ryan acknowledging their previous conversation. They dressed quickly and headed to the control center.

  Toby pulled up a three dimensional holographic representation of the local system, planet, moons, the Enteritor, satellites and the intruder on a large table with a polished black top. The interloper was represented by a red triangle and a flashing red line showed its flight path and current trajectory, a planetary rendezvous.

  “This doesn’t look good,” Anders commented. He straightened his flight jacket. The ship changed course to intercept the Enteritor. The new trajectory promptly changed.

  The Enteritor had limited offensive capability. It was designed to ferry colonists, equipment and supplies not engage in armed combat.

  “I am adjusting course away from the intruder. I will attempt to contact Union Command,” the Enteritor’s avatar spoke over the speakers in a baritone voice. It made you picture a balding, middle aged man.

  “Understood,” the director acknowledged. The director was a civilian with no military background. He turned to Ryan, “Suggestions?”

  He could tell the director was ill prepared and would defer to his judgement. What should they do? If it was an attack they would target the domes. Sweat rolled down the director’s temple. The ship drew closer.

  “Scatter in the woods, don’t give them tightly bunched targets like the domes.”

  “Yes. That makes sense.” He turned to Toby, “We need to wake everyone, tell them to grab only what they need.”

  “Ground control. Unable...” the Enteritor’s avatar spoke over the link. That was it.

  “Enteritor. Repeat last transmission.”

  Silence.

  They rushed to the barracks. Anders noticed a flash in the sky followed by a streak across the heavens in the first light of dawn. He pointed to it.

  “What is that?” Toby asked.

  “The Enteritor,” Anders replied.

  They began waking everyone. There were muttered complaints. They explained the predicament and what everyone needed to do. Parents hurriedly dressed their offspring. Mothers tried desperately not to cry while fathers put up a dauntless front. Everyone still half asleep filed from the dormitory and into the woods. A baby was crying in the crowd somewhere. Ryan frantically checked the wash rooms, lockers and under bunks for stray individuals. When he felt confident there was no else he stood in the camp under the now blazing sun, it was just above the horizon.

  He lifted his hand to shield his eyes. He looked to the west at the Enteritor who was still slowly streaking through the sky trailing debris as he continued his fiery descent. The burned carcass of the colony ship had only minutes left. Anders watched as it plunged in to the waning night. Tiberous was still visible in the sky to the right of the doomed behemoth.

  The throng of people had all fled into the woods. Ryan looked about the camp wondering if he should flee as well. The camp would be an easy target, the shuttle as well. If it was all destroyed no one would know what happened here, no one would send help. He stood there in the vacant base camp amid the domes, the smell of smoke strong in the air. He was unsure about his fate or his fellow colonist. A child’s shoe lay on the ground nearby, undoubtedly left behind from the unexpected flight.

  The ground rumbled as the Enteritor collided with the planet. It took many moments before the sound arrived. It was a sickening sound of metal twisted and shredded in agony. It made Ryan’s skin crawl like finger nails on a chalkboard. The door of the command center opened and the director emerged. He looked in the direction of the sound, he noticed Anders.

  “Are you alright son?” Lang asked him.

  “I thought you had all left,” Ryan sounded bewildered.

  “The captain goes down with the ship and all that. I have to stay so I can try to make sense of things and keep these people safe.”

  He waved Anders back into the control dome.

  Anders eyes fixed on live feed from one of the satellites. It started as a bright flash on the surface of Paradisus like the birth of a star and began to spread outward dying in intensity from white to red to orange. The color drained from his face. Director Lang saw his expression and watched the color leave him. He knew something was dreadfully wrong.

  “Wh-what is it?” Lang stuttered “What’s wrong?”

  “We need to get the children in the shuttle.”

  “Why? We just sent them all in to the forest.”

  Ryan had heard of such a device. It would continue to engulf the entire surface scorching the planet and leaving it a barren rock. He pointed to the monitor at the expanding fireball.

  “No time to explain but we can’t save everyone.”

  The director had never felt anxiety and despair the likes of which he faced in that moment. Roughly ten percent of the planet was covered in bright yellow orange and expanding. It reminded him of burning rice paper. As it traveled the epicenter began to darken and increase in size and became a halo of fire. The director got on the colony’s public address channel.

  “All children return to base camp immediately. I repeat all children return to base camp immediately. It is imperative that you listen and return with your children,” he sounded calm but in such a way that you knew it was dire.

  They exited the dome awaiting the first arrivals.

  “Get the shuttle ready to leave. You have to be out of here before that-that fire gets here,” he stuttered trying to think of a better word for fire in their impending doom but found none.

  The families started to emerge from the forest as Ryan prepped the shuttle for launch. The shuttle had ten grav seats, five on each side, they folded up and stowed in the wall when not in use. Also, an empty copilot seat and two seats facing consoles just behind the pilots for a total of fourteen. Ryan watched a mother and father running through knee high grass. The father carried his daughter in his arms, she was maybe seven.

  As the crowd of parents gathered outside the hum of the shuttles engines was evident. Many asked, “What’s going on?” and “Why did we come back?”

  “We don’t have much time for explanation. Please put your children in the shuttle. I will explain after that is done,” the director was a trusted man and the parents could see the fear in his eyes, many understood something was terribly wrong.

  “There aren’t enough seats for all of them,” a lady said from inside. There were twenty children.

  “Put some of the smaller ones two to a seat and buckle them in together,” Ryan told her.

  That still left four children without a seat.

  “Strap them to the floor,” Anders told the next mother to say something.

  She started to protest, to say how her child wasn’t cargo but the look Ryan gave her told her it was the only way her child would survive. She nodded. He pulled some cargo straps from a locker and they lashed the last four to the deck.

  “I’m sorry,” he told them as he tightened the straps.

  “That’s all of them,” the director yelled to Anders over the sound of the engines. “Get them out of here.”

  Ryan nodded and hit the hatch close button. He wanted to stand there and watch the door close. He didn’t want to leave the parents behind but he knew as he stepped over the children lashed to the deck that there wasn’t enough room.

  As the shuttle lifted into the air the director informed the parents of the predicament they were in and explained that they could hate him or love him but he saved their children. Many mothers fell to the ground weeping uncontrollably. One husband caught his wife on her way down and held her up and held her close.
His eyes filled with tears too as they all looked skyward to their hope for the future. They continued to watch until it disappeared.

  The shuttle rocketed into the morning light, the engines flared brightly as it climbed. The children cowered in the aft strapped to their seat crying and screaming for the parents that were left behind. A little girl clutched her stuffed animal.

  In the copilot seat was the blonde teenage boy whose head he rubbed the day he first landed, Jessie was his name. Ryan glanced over at the young man and then back at the children, he felt a sickness wash over him. He knew they wouldn’t make it. The shuttle couldn’t climb fast enough. He should try the jump drive. He checked the display. It wasn’t charged and most likely would not work but he could try it anyway. He flipped open the clear panel that covered the emergency jump button. He had no coordinates programed in the system, it would be a blind jump. He looked at Jess again, their stares locked. Jessie’s green eyes nodded. Do it he thought.

  The explosion was expanding exponentially, those left behind were no doubt engulfed. The shuttle was just ahead of it and losing distance fast. The bright yellow conflagration overwhelmed the shuttle and it erupted in a bright flash.

  Chapter One

  Connor

  Connor, (from Conchobar, is an Irish name meaning “Wolf Kin” or ”Lover of Wolves”)

  “Warning. Ten minutes of oxygen remaining,” his suit announced in a calm female voice.

  His breathing became labored. He was running out of oxygen. He was down to his last ten minutes of air and the Ragnarok still had not returned. He knew he had to control his breathing if he was going to have any chance of survival.

  That didn’t help.

  He was taking Deep Space Deprivation training. The purpose was to teach trainees how to endure the psychological and physiological rigors of deep space survival. They would be taken out, deep into interstellar space, light years from the nearest star. Without warning someone would come escort them to an air lock to suit up. They would then be flushed from an airlock as the starship performed an FTL jump.