Dawn Arrives (The Second Dark Ages Book 4)

by Michael Anderle

  Again, break being the operative word.

  Voice off-camera: You mean, this was where you broke through the window?

  Arlene (showing the cut on her face): That’s right. Only second story, mind you. No need for exaggeration . . . unlike certain space archeologists you might talk to. Anyway—I hit the ground running, just about, and then headed back to find Scamp. Fortunately, I still had my holo, and it had a homing beacon app on it. And it was working. Small mercies. So I ran for . . . ooooh, maybe ten minutes . . . back to the Scamp Princess.

  When I got there, thankfully Scamp had all her defenses up and had managed to mess up all the locators and stuff they had trying to track me, so once I was onboard, I was safe.

  “Time to find Giles,” I told Scamp.

  “Oh, I’ve located him,” Scamp informed me.

  “How come?” I asked, seeing on the console that we no longer had a trace on his holo locator.

  “Well, I lost his signal several hours ago, but I’m just assuming that he’s somewhere in the vicinity of the new ship that has come into orbit that the Oloudese are all in a twist about. Something about it shaking up an area of land in the middle of town,” Scamp explained to me.

  Obviously, that was where he was—Mr. Stealthy. So off we popped to go rescue his ass. And the rest, as they say, is a matter of record.

  Ohh, but it was at that point that I realized that this mysterious, unmarked but Federation-issued ship that our sensors were picking up must’ve had some prompting to show up out of the blue like that. Turned out that one of the protocols installed in the Scamp Princess was a beacon that would send out a scrambled signal to all Federation ships on a secret frequency if Giles’s holo was ever unlocatable for more than five minutes. Found it buried deep in the code. He’s such a Mommy’s boy.

  Voice off-camera: What?

  Well, of course, it was his mother who had that installed. Probably had Frank do it himself. Or at least write the code. Lord knows if Lance even knows about it. Heck, I bet even Mr. I-can-save-my-own-ass hasn’t put it together yet. Honestly, I think that man just assumed that everything is a coincidence. Or a result of his good luck. Or skill.

  Yeah, probably mostly his skill . . . ha!

  Anyway, no need to tell him. You’ve heard of risk compensation, right? No reason to have him taking even bigger risks, knowing any nearby Federation ship will come running to save hi

  Transcript: Giles Kurns

  OK, yes. Yes. It was me. I went to have a conversation with their Lord High Fucktard in person.

  But you know, I just wanted to talk. I had no intension of giving him anything that would jeopardize his trial. I mean, honestly, what do you think I am? I had no idea that candy has such an effect on their physiology.

  OK, from the beginning? Alright.

  So I blagged my way in there. No, no . . . the details aren’t important. But I needed to speak with him. You see, Arlene had already found out there was a possibility that there was a faction of “elders” that might know something about the Codex we were looking for. Apparently, they were about to bring them over to Arlene’s important meetings before . . . well, you know.

  So we knew they existed, and obviously, Arlene and I put it together that these might be one and the same group. And we knew exactly where these guys would be. The local prison after the stunt they pulled with the children.

  Anyway, I sat down on the other side of the screen to talk to this creep, and he starts giving me the usual Hannibal Lecture BS. I managed to skip most of it, but then he started ranting about what their rituals do for the land and the people.

  “The fertility of the land relies on these sacrifices!” he declared like he was some kind of prophet. “Just you watch. We sacrifice a handful freely, or else we allow thousands to be taken by starvation. It’s the way of the universal laws!”

  Honestly, you should’ve heard him.

  “I’m sure,” I agreed as neutrally as I could.

  But he wouldn’t shut up. “You are so intent on being the hero . . .” he told me. “All noble. You don’t understand the first thing about nobility. About what it takes to lead a nation. To keep the people under your charge, safe. You think it’s all about stepping in and using your violence to save people. You’ve killed people. You’ll see. In less than a generation, this will all go to pot. You mark my words.”

  So there I was, deferentially marking his bloody words, and I remembered . . . I had a candy bar in my pocket. OK, granted it’d been there since we stepped off the ship the first time, so it was a bit melted and the wrapper was dusty from the soil after the tunnels collapsed. But it was there.

  “You know what this is?” I asked, pulling it out from my pocket.

  The High Priest grabbed at it like it was some kind of drug he had a taste for.

  “Yeeeeeesss, my preciousssessss . . .” I cooed. “It’s a candy bar. From Yoll. Full of sugar. Enough to get your physiology completely tapped out and high for . . . ooooh, months, I reckon.”

  Actually, I just added that bit in. I honestly didn’t know what effect it would have on him . . .

  Anyway, I pulled the candy bar back away from the table that separated us.

  “What do you know about the Codex of Orn?” I asked.

  “Give me the candy, and I’ll tell you.”

  “Tell me what I need to know, and I’ll gladly give it to you,” I told him.

  Anyway, he didn’t know much. Just that it existed and was mostly thought to be a legend more than anything else.

  So anyway, I left, tossing the Yollin candy bar on the table. I mean, I wasn’t going to put that shit in my body . . . after all, it’s a fucking temple, you see.

  Arleen (starts having what seems to be a coughing fit)

  Giles (raising one eyebrow): Anyway, Scamp updated me with a report that this ringleader guy had been so blissed out on some illicit drug they’d outlawed there that he couldn’t string a sentence together for his trial. He ended up getting the maximum sentence . . . and telling them the location of all the other sacrificial sites where he and his followers had been committing atrocities. And he gave up the names of everyone else involved.

  So with a bit of luck, we may’ve just wiped out every last trace of this practice. And hopefully they won’t suffer from famine and plagues or locusts or whatever he was saying would happen.

  Arlene: You don’t actually believe what he told you?

  Giles: I . . . I don’t know. I wonder sometimes. But . . . what can we do? We can’t stand by and let this happen. And if they need aid and food and terraforming help, then I’ll make sure they get it.

  Arlene: So what? They’re like . . . under your protection now?

  Giles: I . . . I suppose they . . . are. Yes.

  Arlene: Well, aren’t you a dark horse! With layers like an onion . . .

  Giles: Well, quite. Although, there are nicer vegetables you could compare me to.

  What?

  What? You’d just roll your eyes at me and walk away?

  Arlene!

  Areleeeeeeeene!

  OK, so anyway. That was what happened. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go after my girlfriend. And try and . . . oh, I dunno. Restaurants, roses . . . no, that won’t do.

  Maybe another adventure. And maybe this time we’ll do something she wants to do . . . like harness the power of her Estarian Ancestors . . . or something equally dangerous and ridiculous.

  (Shuffling off camera as Giles hurriedly leaves the room.)

  Epilogue

  So then I had to be debriefed by the General, over holo connection before we were cleared for our next mission.

  “The Queen told me herself—explicitly—that if you have backup, use it, sir.”

  That was me justifying pulling one of his top-secret agents off some bullshit jolly he was on. Not that I actually called for backup . . . I guess Arlene has filled you in on the code my dad planted.

  “You wouldn’t have needed to use it if you’d done what
you were told in the first place and come home,” Uncle Lance told me. He was verging on tearing me a new one. This wasn’t the first time I’d needed help. Only last time, it was a frikkin’ battle cruiser. Again . . . that wasn’t my fault either.

  “Remember Giles, while you’re swanning around, I’m the one that gets an ear full from your mother.”

  “Well, sir, actually I . . .”

  “You what? Something you want to tell me?”

  “No, sir.”

  I decided it was probably prudent at this point to keep quiet about the fifty holo calls I’d ignored from Mom while I was . . . well, stalking the girl. And again, when I was, you know, under fire.

  Never a convenient time to take her calls. I know I’m not the only one who feels the same . . .

  “And what of this codex?” Uncle Lance pressed me.

  I cleared my throat. “I have reason to believe that it does indeed exist, but as to its whereabouts—I don’t know. It may well turn up somewhere. The Oloudes government were very kind in allowing us to take some of the books from the clubhouse of the order that was run by the child killers. They deemed some of them unnecessary for evidence and have granted Arlene and myself custody over them to see if there’s anything pertinent to our research. They only asked that we share any findings, which I think will be perfectly safe and reasonable to do.”

  “You’re telling me you’ve agreed to share details of what you discover in relation to this highly classified mission that you’re on?”

  I waved my hand casually to show Lance he had nothing to worry about. “Well, obviously I’d disguise it as academic research and put it in adequately meaningless jargon that even their military translators won’t be able to decipher.”

  “That’s my boy,” he told me. “You’re catching on!”

  “To be fair, sir, I saw the Earth archives. They were masters at hiding relevant research with academia.”

  “Well, good. At least our mission will live to fight another day.”

  “That it will, sir. I’ll let you know if I find anything useful. In plain English, of course.”

  “Thank you, Giles.”

  And that debriefing was over.

  Arlene: Sounds like you and the Federation probably need a break from each other for a while.

  Giles: That’s the understatement of the decade. You know . . . with a bunch of ancient texts to translate and sift through, we could do that from almost anywhere in the galaxy.

  Arlene: Hmmmmm. You know, Estaria is nice this time of year. We can work on developing your skills in channeling Estarian energy. And other things . . .

  Giles (raising eyebrows suggestively): I like the sound of the other things. Perhaps Estaria is just the place. Before it gets populated by human tourists . . .

  Ready for MORE Giles? Check out Giles In

  Rogue Operator - Adventures of a Space Archeologist Book 01 on Amazon!

  Giles is a roguish space archeologist.

  And a good one too.

  The problem?

  He's addicted to adventure.

  When the continued existence of his whole world is thrown into jeopardy, Professor Giles Kurns may well have to face his biggest challenge yet...

  Growing up.

  Together with an old war ship, an old frienemy, and a rather spunky AI, he embarks on a high stakes journey of intrigue to uncover the truth about the Ascension Myth.

  Will they solve the riddle of the strange but powerful talismans before it’s too late?

  If you like fun, Indiana Jones-like adventures you'll love this series because it is a smart, hilarious, swashbuckling romp in space with characters you'll just want to take home with you.

  Get it now.

  MAY

  2018

  They attacked her world, and killed her people.

  Now, she is coming for them.

  PAYBACK IS A BITCH

  THE KURTHERIAN ENDGAME BOOK 01

  Fans pricing WILL be available on release day,

  but you can still pre-order now for only $3.99 by clicking here.

  Author Notes - Michael Anderle

  February 11, 2018

  First, like I have done sooooo many books before, let me THANK YOU for not only reading through these stories, but reading these author notes, as well!

  Ok, full disclosure – This was both the hardest book to write, and the easiest. The hardest because I had to go back, and connect various scenes from Life Goes On (TKG21), Gateway to the Universe (Craig Martelle and Justin Sloan) and Return of Victory (Justin Sloan) all into this manuscript while I connected with Ell Leigh Clarke on the parts she wrote.

  I was DREADING that aspect (the connections part.) So, I worked to integrate with Ellie’s on her parts. That was relatively easy because she was so far ahead of me, that by the time I had fifteen thousand words left, she was just about done (or was complete I think.)

  <>

  So, I get her manuscript, merge it into my manuscript and change all the fonts so that it looks the same to me.

  I think I only had one major goof-up that I found before I got the order of all of the scenes corrected. I read through the whole document (leaving those big sections I mention above until the end.)

  Then, I downloaded the books I thought I would need (failing to download Gateway because I didn’t realize I didn’t already own the book.) I went through the books on the flight back from London to Las Vegas and marked up the stories.

  That was Monday.

  By Monday night, I had a plan to work for the quick Boris scene and shot it to Paul C. Middleton for review, and I thought “I’ve got this!”

  By Wednesday afternoon, I had both this book, and Life Goes On to the editing teams, and my mind just started to flounder.

  << Ellie Edit: I’m already confused…>>

  I had been working on one or the other of these two books since Christmas. Now, they were done!

  About that Physics Question…

  On Thursday or Friday, I was looking at my phone, playing with the Facebook app and I saw a conversation I remembered (then) that I had during my flight from Las Vegas to London (I think I was in London Heathrow maybe at this time?). A fan had asked a very scientific question, and there was no way I was going to be able to answer this without a keyboard.

  At least, not easily.

  So, I texted them that I would need to get back to my laptop to answer their question, and slid the phone back into my pocket.

  Where I promptly forgot that I needed to answer the question until I got back home to the US. Actually, I think it was a couple of days PAST that time.

  So, I’m at home, looking at my phone again and open that same Facebook application. This time, I see the question again (mind you, I’m still on the phone) and re-read their question.

  “Huh,” I think. “This is a physics type question. I’d bet Ellie (Ell Leigh Clarke) would be a better person to truly answer this question, and I’d look smart for getting her involved.”

  So, the next day or so, Ellie happens to mention that “she answered the fan.”

  I thought this was FANTABULOUS! It took me a while before my mental processes slowed down enough, that my eyebrows started to narrow together as I questioned, “How?”

  You see, I hadn’t actually gotten around to sending her the question for the fan. I mean, I’m cool if the fan reached out to her without me getting involved, just surprised.

  Upon further discussion, it’s obvious the reason that Ellie was able to answer this question was because “I” didn’t realize that when I saw the question, I was actually in the Admin section of HER Facebook page.

  Fortunately, I wasn’t in Zoom (or Skype) at this time, or she would have seen how red my face had been. That section of the FB page I feel is for her personal messages to fans, and I pride myself on staying the hell out of that area.

  << Ellie Edit:… mostly. But he says
that like a guy who prides himself on never checking his gf’s phone… only to be caught red handed two days later. Yup. This happened to me. Years ago now… but this just reminds me of it. (And not that I was even bothered at the time. More just amused). It’s the nobility… that comes before a fuck up. Tee hee hee :P >>

  Not ONLY had I gone into that area, but I didn’t realize WHERE I was when I was talking to the fan… as Ellie. Telling the fan that the BEST person to answer the fan’s question WAS ELLIE. How much more confusing could I have POSSIBLY made it for the fan?

  “Hello fan, I know you asked the question to Ellie. But apparently, Ellie is going to answer you (not explaining it’s actually Michael answering) and tell you to ask Ellie…”

  Which they had already done.

  Ellie tells me a moment later that she had done a kick-ass job of answering the question.

  Here are the messages that truly go with this story:

  BT (fan): Okay, I've had some questions for a while and you seem like just the author to answer them. Specifically, can/does a dimension exist like the etheric? Even if it's just a mathematical representation? How would it be possible for someone to cross dimensions? Wouldn't the energy required to bridge dimensions make any energy transference far to inefficient to be useful for powering weapons? And kind of a related question from recent SciFi, would a particle accelerator really be capable of "ripping space time" and causing dimensional collisions? What would even happen if two dimensions collided? Sorry if it's too many questions or you don't want to answer them but you seem to be the science knowledge behind the series so I thought you'd have some of the answers.

 

  From Me (replying as Ellie): hey BT, I need to be at computer to respond to these. Lemme come back to you soon!