First Strike (Hammer's War Book 3)

by James McEwan

  Drake woke to find himself alone in bed. He looked around but Amanda was nowhere to be seen. He didn’t worry because he noticed that a fresh uniform had been laid out and freshly polished boots were set aside for him. He pursed his lips, “Hmm.” Drake got up, showered and then dressed, and after about a span of a half an hour was ready for the day. He still felt a little hung over, but the pills he had taken just before bed were working their magic and dealing with the hang over for him. A few more minutes and it would be as if he had never had a drop of alcohol the night before.

  He left his bedroom only to be met with the smell of freshly cooked bacon. He always ate breakfast in the cafeteria, so to smell fresh food in his own quarters was a nice change. He entered the normally unused dining room to find a full breakfast laid out for him, and just as he was about to sit down Amanda entered the room carrying a pot of fresh coffee.

  “Sit while I pour the coffee,” Amanda said.

  “What is all this,” Drake asked as he pulled out his chair and sat down.

  “You said if I was good to you I would be able to see Ruby today. I was hoping that I had been good enough to see her.”

  “I think I can arrange that,” he said as he picked up a piece of toast. “I’m really glad you’ve seen the light and gotten with the program.”

  Amanda sat down, “I can’t say that I’ve seen the light just yet, but I’m smart enough to see which side my toast is buttered. This is going to take some time for me to adjust to, but as long as you let me care for Ruby you’ll have nothing to worry about from me.”

  “You know we should have gotten married years ago, you would have made a great wife and mother,” Drake said as he took a bite of toast.

  The words were daggers to her. She could imagine no worse fate than being married to this monster of a man, and yet here she was having to play the part to keep Ruby alive.

  “I guess we shouldn’t dwell on the past then should we,” Amanda said as she took a sip of coffee.

  “I guess not,” he said setting the half-eaten toast down. “Now I have a full schedule today, as I have to oversee the transition of government from the old to the new. I will have Ruby brought here and if you continue to please me then she can stay here with you. You can enjoy a few days off to mourn your loss, and then when I’m ready I will have lots of work for you to do as you’ll be in charge of the New Galactic Fleet.” He paused, “That is of course if you really do get with the program.”

  “Give me some time,” was all she could say. It was taking every bit of self-control not to knife him with the butter knife.

  “Of course,” Drake said as he stood up. “Thanks for breakfast, I have to go,” he said and then turned and left.

  A monster he may be, but he was true to his word. About an hour after he left the door opened and Ruby was escorted in the quarters by two LPM-48s. “Grandma,” she yelled and ran over and wrapping her little arms around Amanda’s neck.

  She squeezed Ruby tightly and the tears flowed.

  Chapter 31

  It was mid-morning before Thad awoke. He found himself alone in bed and fully rested, a feeling he had not felt in so long he could not recall the last time. After joining with Kára it was as if the souls of those who haunted his dreams were finally content to leave him be, now that he knew how to bring peace to them.

  Thad met up with St. Claire in the hallway and felt really glad to see him, “Good morning Dom.”

  “Well good morning to you too bubba,” St. Claire said seeming to pick up on Thad’s unusual tone of affection towards him. Thad stopped and looked down. “Everything okay this morning?” St. Claire asked as he noted Thad’s peculiar behavior.

  Thad visibly relaxed as he confirmed everything was as it should be and looked up, “Everything’s great, perfectly fine,” St. Claire raised an eyebrow, “nothing to worry about. Where is everyone?” Thad said desperate to change the subject.

  St. Claire pointed to the front room, “That a way.”

  In the front room, Thad found Rod Masters trying to impress Kára with his tales of near death experiences on different holo sets. Fiona was just about finished connecting Archie’s core to the apartment’s computer. Mortlock and Freya were watching a holo screen of the local newsreader.

  Freya noticed Thad standing in the doorway, “They’ve been saying that the Rep Com government is no more and that we’re all citizens of the New Galactic Empire now, whatever the hell that is. They’re reporting that the fighting is over and that all men and women who are of age are to report to certain areas for cleanup and rebuilding duties.”

  “So I take it we’re going to ignore that order?” Thad asked jokingly.

  “You bet your sweet cheeks on it,” Freya said.

  “So how about you Mortlock? Are you going back to the University?” Thad asked.

  “Given that they’ve shut it down and have issued arrest warrants for the staff I think I’ll pass, if you don’t mind. I think my best bet is to throw in with your lot,” Mortlock answered.

  “Fair enough. How about you Mr. Masters?” Thad asked hoping he would want to go back to his movie studio friends.

  “First call me Rod, and second no way man. The chance to go on a real adventure with real heroes? It’s the chance of a lifetime. Just think of everything I’ll learn, and when this is all over I’ll be an amazing actor. Think of the realism I’ll be able to impart to the audience. I can just see the awards coming in now.”

  Thad wasn’t the only one to roll his eyes, “Okay Rod, if you want to play soldier then I’ll make sure you’re at least believable in the role. First thing you get to do as a real soldier is guard duty,” St. Claire said as he put his arm around Rod and walked him out of the room and into the entryway. At the lift doors St. Claire stopped, “Okay you stand right here and stop anything that comes through those doors. Got it?”

  “Got it!” Rod said excited to pull his first real guard duty.

  “Good,” St. Claire said, and turned to walk away.

  “Wait, how am I supposed to stop them?” Rod asked, knowing he was unarmed.

  St. Claire pulled out a laser pistol he had tucked in the middle of his back waistband. He dropped out the power supply as if he was checking on it then spun it around and reinserted it so the contacts were no longer touching, making it useless. “Here Rod, take this,” he said as he handed Rod the gun.

  “Thanks,” Rod said.

  Back in the front room Fiona announced that she was done connecting Archie to the apartment’s computer and was ready to turn Archie back on. She pushed a few keys on the interface and then they heard a crack over the house speakers. Finally they heard Archie’s voice, “Hello? Is there anyone there? Am I dead? Is this robot heaven?” The questions came in a rapid-fire succession.

  “Why can’t I see? My damage reporting system appears to be offline.” Archie continued on while Fiona worked to correct the issue.

  “Hang in there Archie, I’ll make it possible for you to see in just a second,” she said as she quickly rewrote the interface software.

  Thad was impressed, “I didn’t know you could do that.”

  “Eve has been teaching us a lot about programing and robotic engineering. However, Fi is way better at all this than me,” Freya said.

  “Got it,” Fiona exclaimed as she hit the enter key.

  “Oh that is much better, thank you. Wait, why can I see out of all of the security cameras? What did you do to me?” Archie asked still not understanding that he was now interfaced with the apartment and the building’s computer system.

  “Well Archie old buddy, you were a little banged up when we found you, so I pulled your core and interfaced you with the apartment’s computer. Don’t worry though, it’s only temporary,” Fiona said.

  “Archie can you show us what happened to Amanda and Ruby,” Thad asked.

  “One moment sir, while I access those memory files,” Archie’s disembodied voice said.

  Thad thought it was strange to hear
his voice this way even though it was how he had initially got to know Eve. Archie, on the other hand, had always been in the room with him not just a voice from beyond. He also thought it strange that his mother had never made use of the apartment’s limited AI. He guessed she must have preferred to be old fashioned and have Charles run everything for her, just as the butlers of old used to.

  They didn’t wait long as the holo screen projected a 3d first person image of the events. They watched all of the files from the time he hid Ruby in the wall to the moment when his cameras went off line. Thad stood arms folded across his chest, “I’d say from what I see in this vid that it’s a good bet Drake has both my mother and Ruby.”

  “I would think so as well, by the patches on the men’s uniforms,” St. Claire offered.

  “Any bets as to who Drake is working for?” Kára asked.

  “The Nephilim,” Thad said in the coldest tone any of them had ever heard him use.

  “I’d bet my life on it,” Kára replied.

  “No need to place your bets, check this out,” Freya said. She had been monitoring the only video feed on air. The official government feed was showing the senate chamber and in the center was the dark robed giant. His hood shadowed his face yet one could still see the glow from his red eyes. The newsreader introduced him as the new Lord Emperor. No other name, just the title.

  The Lord Emperor went on a twenty-minute speech about how luckily the people of the former Republic of Commerce were to come under his rule. He went on to say how they would be safer and happier than they ever were before. Then he addressed all the systems that were a part of the Rep Com that needed to submit to the new government, making it clear that those who didn’t would be brought to heel just as the Capital planet of Isis had been. His speech droned on and on and spoke of bringing all of the systems into one galactic empire that would span all races and species. His boldest statement of all was that once the New Galactic Empire was fully established there would never again be a need for war.

  “I have to stop that monster,” Thad said through clenched teeth.

  “Don’t you mean we do dear?” Fiona said more as a statement of fact rather than a question.

  “I didn’t care to speak for anyone of you. This is personal for me. That thing’s plan created me. It created that program and he’s responsible for all those people, all those innocent people. It is my mission to avenge all of those lives I took at his behest. I won’t ask any of you to join me on what most likely will be a suicide mission. With that being said, I won’t turn away your help either,” Thad said as he looked over the faces of his family and friends.

  Surprisingly to the twins it was St. Claire who spoke first, “Sounds like fun! Where do I sign up?”

  “You know I’m always looking for a good fight,” Kára stated.

  “I really hate war and killing, but as a retried captain of the ODF (Orillia Defense Force) 3rd division 5th regiment a foot, I’ll stand with you in your fight sir,” Mortlock said in his deep voice.

  “I knew it,” St. Claire exclaimed. “I thought you had been prior military experience by the way you conducted yourself yesterday.”

  “Yes, I fought in both star wars against the damn Dreenoi and the Ralnai. But that was a long time ago and I would rather put those days behind me where they belong,” Mortlock said.

  “Both star wars? How old are you anyway?” St. Claire asked.

  “I forget; humans have such a short life span. I’m nearly two hundred years old,” Mortlock replied.

  “I knew Orillia lived long lives, but I had no idea. How long do you all live?” St. Claire asked, intrigued by Mortlock.

  “Somewhere between three and four hundred years. About the same as the Eli, that is to say those who stay out of combat anyway.”

  Freya rolled her eyes, “Okay enough with the Orillia crush Dom. You’re stealing Thad’s big moment.”

  “Oh, sorry. Was that what I was doing? I thought we were signing up on an adventure that was to be fraught with danger and ultimately end in a gruesome and painful death,” St. Claire said as he waved his hands around in large flourishing motions.

  “That sums it up pretty well, but I still wanted to make a big speech about how I love him and would never leave his side not even in death, or something like that,” Freya said half-joking, half-serious.

  “Yeah and what about my speech? It was going to be a tear jerker,” Fiona piped in.

  Thad laughed, “I get it, you’re all with me. There was never any doubt in my mind that you all were with me on this. Okay, maybe just a little doubt about Mortlock, but that’s because I’m just getting to know you. No offense.”

  “None taken.”

  “Alright then, first thing we need is intel. We need to know everything we can about where Amanda and Ruby are being held. They are top priority. After they are safe then and only then do we go after that red eyed bastard,” Thad said.

  “I wish we had contact with Eve. She would make this a whole lot simpler,” Fiona commented.

  As if on cue Eve’s broken and static ridden voice came in so loud within Thad’s mind that he grabbed his head and dropped to his knees, grunting at the sudden and sharp pain. “Thad can you hear me?” She asked.

  “Damn it Eve no so bloody loud. Are you trying to split my skull or are you trying to use it for a speaker?” Thad transmitted the thought back to her.

  Meanwhile everyone in the room looked shocked and worried at his sudden out cry of pain. Freya being the closest to him moved to help him, but he held up his hand to stop her, “I’m okay, it’s Eve she’s broken through the jamming signal, but she’s coming in a little loud.”

  “He has a comm chip in his head?” St. Claire asked amazed.

  “Yep, courtesy of Doctor Hammer. Somehow he figured out how to solve the brain to computer interface problem and the rejection issue that has plagued attempts to interface brain with machine for hundreds of years,” Fiona answered.

  “Do you all have them?” Kára asked.

  “No, not yet. We were going to get them, but that was before Thad took his little trip to the other dimension. All of Doctor Hammer’s research was kept in encrypted files that only he and Thad knew the password to. Even Eve didn’t know nor could she break the encryption as her core programing prevented her from snooping into his private files,” again Fiona answered.

  “Given what we’re about to do I think such a device would be extremely advantageous,” Kára said as she contemplated the application of such a device for herself.

  “I thought Eli tech allowed you to control your equipment by thought?” St. Claire asked.

  “It does, but the interface is external and limited to skin contact. My armor has many points that contact my skin so I can control it. However, I still have to speak out loud to use the comms,” Kára explained. “Of course the Eli developed the tech to do such a thing, but it was considered stumtran,” she paused. “Ah there is no real word in your language, but it was deemed to be un-Eli to have any part of a machine inside of your body.”

  “The Eli don’t believe in mixing body with machine?” Fiona asked.

  “Correct.” Kára answered.

  “But what about the sick or injured? Don’t you have some way of helping them with machines?” Fiona asked again fascinated.

  “There are no sick Eli. Our medical science has long cured that problem and as far as wounded Eli, they are either killed outright in battle or those who don’t die we make whole again,” Kára explained.

  “Interesting,” Fiona said softly.

  Thad stood back up and said, “Okay people here’s the deal. Eve can back door their comms for short bursts and she’s going to feed me all the intel she can. She’s also been in contact with Captain Wesson. He’s marshaling as many ships as he can put together for a counter attack.”

  “That’s at least some good news,” Freya said.

  Chapter 32

  Quintin Drake, like most men in his position, was complicate
d. He was a master tactician and extremely adept at the game of politics. He was capable of acts of great evil, and yet he could also be kind as well. Unlike George Thorne, he was not all about the job. He was not the cold hard killing professional. He had chosen Thorne for that specific quality. However, he didn’t share it. Drake much preferred to let others get their hands dirty, and so it was with the task of retrieving personal items from Amanda Hay’s penthouse apartment.

  He thought it would make her more at home and relax a bit if she had some of her things with her. He had been disappointed with her skills in the bedroom. He had often fantasized about what it would be like to be with her. However, his dream fell far short of the real thing as she had laid there like a corpse and let him do his thing. He had better times with love bots over the years then he did with the woman he had been chasing for over thirty years.

  This was nothing more than a small set back in his mind. As for one thing that could be said about Drake, he never quit when he decided he wanted to achieve something. He had never failed to get what he wanted, even if took thirty years, and he was determined not to fail now.

  Riding up the lift to the penthouse apartment was a young male ensign with a service bot to carry the cases and one LPM-48 as his security escort. The doors to the lift dinged softly and slid open. The young officer was met by the barrel of a laser pistol pointed right at him.

  “Stop right there mister,” Masters exclaimed with as much garish flare as if he were in front of a holo camera.

  The LPM-48 was a military police unit and it reacted to the threat. It pushed the officer to the floor, more like knocked him down as it stepped over him. It reached out and grabbed Masters by the neck, lifting him off the ground. Rod tried desperately to pull the trigger, but the instinct to breath overcame him and he dropped the pistol as both of his hands went to the cold steel hands of the bot.

  From inside the front room the others heard a high pitch scream. Thad looked at St. Claire and in unison they said, “Masters.”

  “I got this,” St. Claire said as he grabbed a cone rifle that was leaning against the wall.