Deathangel

by Kevin Ikenberry

  Again, Reecha translated and the armed Veentaho visibly relaxed. It squeaked at her again, but the vitriol in its voice seemed absent.

  “You celebrate this event on this night?” Veeka said through Reecha.

  Katya nodded. “Not all humans, but yes.”

  Veeka turned to Reecha and said something soft. “We celebrate a similar event. A similar…being. But very differently.”

  “Perhaps we are more alike than not.” Katya smiled.

  Jimmy shuffled on his feet and looked like he wanted to say something. Katya cut him off with her eyes. She turned back to Veeka. “The child we celebrate was a great teacher, leader, and savior to his people.”

  Veeka said something to Reecha who demurred and looked at the makeshift bassinet. “Maybe one of these children would grow to be the same.”

  Veeka reached out to Reecha’s translator for a moment and removed it. The two spoke quietly for a moment in their native tongue while Veeka worked on the translator with her fingers. She placed it back around Reecha’s neck and it glowed a bright pink. After a moment, the soldier withdrew one from a pouch on her belt and donned it.

  Veeka looked at Katya for a moment. “You possess honor, human.”

  “My name is Katya, Honored Veeka.”

  The Veetanho nodded formally. “Well met, friend.”

  “Well met.”

  Veeka cocked her head slightly. For the first time, Katya saw that she wore an earpiece down inside her ear. “Your people have dispatched a patrol to fetch you. We should be on our way.”

  Katya shook her head. “No, Honored Veeka. Please stay until you can get the babies home with the warmth and stability they need. We will ensure your safety.”

  Veeka turned to Reecha. “Is that acceptable, Honored One?”

  “Yes, Commander.” Reecha replied. She glanced at Katya, and all of a sudden Katya realized who was really in charge. Her brow furrowed.

  “You are the colony leader?” she asked. “Why were you out with your children on a hunt?”

  “A leader must provide, too.” Reecha said. “Others may want to sit in the nest and let their people work for them. I do not. My people deserve the warmth of the nest as much as I do. And my children must know that, too.”

  Katya smiled. “A great lesson.”

  “One which the human colony leader does not understand.” Reecha said. “Is that why you came here?”

  “They asked for doctors. We came because we were needed.”

  “And we shot you down,” Reecha frowned. “Was there communication from your ship to the planet? All frequencies as directed in our charter?”

  “Yes,” Katya replied.

  “And there has been communication from the human colony to yours with no response,” Jimmy added. Katya had almost forgotten the young man with the incredible eyes was still there.

  “Something is wrong with our equipment,” Reecha looked at Veeka. “We must fix it as well. And we ensure that your people are getting our messages as well, and not those ignored by the Zuul.”

  There was a tiredness in the leader’s voice for a moment. Katya leaned forward. “The humans have problems, too. Perhaps there is a chance for cooperation instead of conflict.”

  Reecha nodded. “I have hoped for a peaceful end. Out of a tragic misunderstanding, it appears I may have found one.”

  “At least we haven’t woken the babies,” Katya laughed.

  “Oh, they’ve noticed,” Adela smiled. “Except for this little one. She hasn’t made a peep.”

  “That makes me smile, friend Adela.” Reecha chittered a laugh. “My great aunt is named Peepo. She has never been that quiet, though.”

  * * *

  Container Field

  Snowmass

  The snow no longer fell, and the sky cleared in large, ragged tears. Stars neither of them could name shone brightly in the darkness through the remnants of the slate gray clouds. Above the trees, in the direction of New Perth, the lights of flyers with their red and green beacons, flew toward them. Katya watched them for a long moment before looking back up at the stars.

  “You didn’t have to land,” she said to the young man at her side. The breeze was calm, and they stood with just their soft hoods over their heads in the ankle-deep snow. When she spoke a wave of steam erupted from her mouth in the frigid, still air. “Things would have been the same, I think.”

  Jimmy shrugged. “There’s no way of knowing that now.”

  “I guess not,” she sighed. “Do you think they will solve this conflict?”

  “If they’re smart they will. But it will take more gumption than a human politician has to do so. These things take effort. Real effort. “ Jimmy stuffed his gloved hands into his pockets. “A lot of good people are hurting out here.”

  “More than just humans,” Katya said.

  “Yeah.” Jimmy sniffed and exhaled a cloud of steam with a burst of soft laughter. “I think before this is all over, a lot of folks are going to be hurting.”

  She turned to look at him and saw his brow furrowed in thought. Curious, she asked, “What are you thinking?”

  He shrugged. “I’m just a freighter crew member. What do I know?”

  More than you let on, that’s for sure.

  “Tell me what you were thinking just then.” Katya smiled. “Something serious went through your mind.”

  “Just an idea.” Jimmy smiled with one side of his mouth. “There seems to be more humans getting in real trouble without a plan for getting out alive. Our last few trips we’ve ended up hauling beat-up mercenaries out of combat zones. It’s like some of them have no idea what they’re facing out here. Everyone is a potential enemy.”

  Katya jerked her head toward the container. “Until you make them your friend.”

  “Yeah,” Jimmy shook his head. “That’s easier said than done.”

  “Yet, we just did that,” Katya replied. “And don’t say that you weren’t part of that. You kept your bearing and managed to not draw your weapon. Most humans out here shoot first and answer questions later.”

  “You mean ask them later,” he turned toward her and smiled. She decided that she liked his smile. And his eyes. “You still live on Earth, Katie?”

  She grinned at him and shook her head, but she could not bring herself to correct him. “No. I go where the organization sends me. We have offices in most human-settled systems.”

  “That’s not what I asked.”

  “I know, Snowman.” She chuckled. “My home, for now, is here among the stars. One Christmas, it will be far away. Somewhere warmer, and with children running around.”

  “And your husband?” Jimmy asked. His blue eyes seemed to catch every shred of light around them and sparkle brightly.

  “As long as he doesn’t arrive like a knight in shining armor and fall off his steed into the snow, I think he might be okay.” She smiled. “But that’s a long way off. I want to do more good in this void, Jimmy. Do you understand that?”

  He nodded. “I joined a crew to do something that didn’t involve going into battle with substandard weapons and leaders. Don’t get me wrong, some of the companies are shit hot, but most of them couldn’t fight their way to a bake sale. I keep thinking there’s more to do. That I have to do more. I don’t know what that looks like yet, and I have a good job already, but there’s more to do out here.”

  He pulled his hands out of his pockets again. She reached over and grabbed his left hand. “I am glad you came along when you did, Snowman.”

  “Me, too, Katie. Merry Christmas.”

  “Merry Christmas,” Katya said. “It’s one I will never forget.”

  A shooting star raced through the dark sky above them and pulled their eyes away from the inbound flyers and back to the void. He squeezed her hand as they looked up into the sky. The silence of the wind was covered by the beating of her heart in her ears. There was much more to be done. Many more adventures to have. But there was something special about the young pilot with the st
unning blue eyes.

  Something special indeed.

  <<<<>>>>

  About Kevin Ikenberry

  Kevin’s head has been in the clouds since he was old enough to read. Ask him and he’ll tell you that he still wants to be an astronaut. A retired Army officer, Kevin has a diverse background in space and space science education. A former manager of the world-renowned U.S. Space Camp program in Huntsville, Alabama and a former executive of two Challenger Learning Centers, Kevin works with space every day and lives in Colorado with his family.

  Kevin’s bestselling debut science fiction novel, Sleeper Protocol, was released by Red Adept Publishing in January 2016 and was a Finalist for the 2017 Colorado Book Award. Publisher’s Weekly called it “an emotionally powerful debut.” His military science fiction novel Runs In The Family was released by Strigidae Publishing in January 2016 and re-released by Theogony books in 2018. Peacemaker, Book 6 of the Revelations Cycle, was released in 2017, spawning its own line of books in the Four Horsemen Universe.

  Kevin is an Active Member of the Science Fiction Writers of America and he is member of Pikes Peak Writers and the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers. He is an alumna of the Superstars Writing Seminar.

  Titles by Kevin Ikenberry

  “Peacemaker” – Available Now

  “Honor the Threat” – Available Now

  “Stand or Fall” – Available Now

  “Super-Sync” – Available Now

  “A Fistful of Credits” – Available Now

  “Runs in the Family” – Available Now

  * * * * *

  Connect with Kevin Ikenberry Online

  Learn more about Kevin Ikenberry at:

  http://www.kevinikenberry.com/

  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorkevinikenberry/

  Twitter: @thewriterike

  * * * * *

  Connect with Seventh Seal Press

  Get the free prelude story “Shattered Crucible,”

  join the mailing list, and discover other titles at:

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  * * * * *

  The following is an

  Excerpt from Super-Sync:

  Super-Sync

  ___________________

  Kevin Ikenberry

  Now Available from Theogony Books

  eBook, Paperback, and Audio

  Excerpt from “Super-Sync:”

  The subspace radio chimed an hour later, just as Lew put aside the holonovel with dissatisfaction. There was no such thing as “happily ever after,” no matter how many books she read. No one was going to carry her off into the sunset. Lew reached for the radio controls and felt the thuds of Tyler’s boots on the deck in the passageway below. He burst onto the bridge and vaulted into his chair.

  He looked at Lew. “Identify the transmission.”

  Lew fingered the controls and read off the diagnostic information, “Standard Ku band transmission from Earth. Origin point known through Houston nexus. Encryption is solid Johnson Analytics with the proper keys.”

  Tyler grinned. “Boss.”

  Lew nodded and smiled as well. “Appears so.”

  Their mysterious benefactor hadn’t called them in more than six months, but every time he’d employed them, the take had been impressive. How he was able to garner the contracts he had bordered on magic. Lew thought the man sounded like some kind of Texas oil baron. Despite the technology, his calls were always voice-only, and there was never any interaction between them and whoever he represented.

  Whatever he contracted them to acquire was delivered to a private, automated hangar on Luna. The robotic ground crew would unload Remnant and send them on their way again. Anonymous cash transfers always appeared in their accounts by the time Remnant returned to lunar orbit. The first mission had earned Tyler’s company over a million Euros. The following missions were even more lucrative.

  Their benefactor went by a call sign, and they talked in codes meant only for their own ears. It should have been a red flag, but the money was too damned good to pass up. A call from him could not go unanswered.

  Tyler punched a few buttons on his console, and a drawling voice boomed through the speakers, “Remnant, this is Boss. Are you receiving?” The transmission ended with a chiming tone that dated back to the early days of spaceflight. The clear delineation of conversation allowed Tyler to answer.

  “Boss, this is Remnant. Nice to hear from you. How can we be of service?”

  A few seconds passed. “Tyler, it’s good to hear your voice. I understand you’re on a contract flight from our friend in India.”

  “That’s affirm, Boss.”

  “Roger, you’ve got a shadow. Are you aware of that?”

  Tyler’s face darkened. “Roger, Boss. We’re aware of the bogey.”

  By definition, a bogey was an unknown contact with unknown intentions. Should the situation turn bad, the radar blip would become a bandit. Lew checked the telemetry from the unknown ship. There was no change in direction or speed. It was still gaining on them.

  “Remnant, the trailing vehicle is not your concern. I have a change in mission for you.”

  Tyler shook his head. “Negative, Boss. I have a contract.”

  “Remnant, I bought out that contract. The shadow on your tail is the Rio Bravo, under contract by me to get Telstar Six Twelve. You’re going high super-sync.”

  * * * * *

  Get “Super-Sync” now at: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07PGS545X

  Find out more about Kevin Ikenberry and “Super-Sync” at: https://chriskennedypublishing.com

  * * * * *

  The following is an

  Excerpt from Book One of the Earth Song Cycle:

  Overture

  ___________________

  Mark Wandrey

  Available Now from Theogony Books

  eBook and Paperback

  Excerpt from “Overture:”

  Dawn was still an hour away as Mindy Channely opened the roof access and stared in surprise at the crowd already assembled there. “Authorized Personnel Only” was printed in bold red letters on the door through which she and her husband, Jake, slipped onto the wide roof.

  A few people standing nearby took notice of their arrival. Most had no reaction, a few nodded, and a couple waved tentatively. Mindy looked over the skyline of Portland and instinctively oriented herself before glancing to the east. The sky had an unnatural glow that had been growing steadily for hours, and as they watched, scintillating streamers of blue, white, and green radiated over the mountains like a strange, concentrated aurora borealis.

  “You almost missed it,” one man said. She let the door close, but saw someone had left a brick to keep it from closing completely. Mindy turned and saw the man who had spoken wore a security guard uniform. The easy access to the building made more sense.

  “Ain’t no one missin’ this!” a drunk man slurred.

  “We figured most people fled to the hills over the past week,” Jake replied.

  “I guess we were wrong,” Mindy said.

  “Might as well enjoy the show,” the guard said and offered them a huge, hand-rolled cigarette that didn’t smell like tobacco. She waved it off, and the two men shrugged before taking a puff.

  “Here it comes!” someone yelled. Mindy looked to the east. There was a bright light coming over the Cascade Mountains, so intense it was like looking at a welder’s torch. Asteroid LM-245 hit the atmosphere at over 300 miles per second. It seemed to move faster and faster, from east to west, and the people lifted their hands to shield their eyes from the blinding light. It looked like a blazing comet or a science fiction laser blast.

  “Maybe it will just pass over,” someone said in a voice full of hope.

  Mindy shook her head. She’d studied the asteroid’s track many times.

  In a matter of a few seconds, it shot by and fell toward the western horizon, disappearing below
the mountains between Portland and the ocean. Out of view of the city, it slammed into the ocean.

  The impact was unimaginable. The air around the hypersonic projectile turned to superheated plasma, creating a shockwave that generated 10 times the energy of the largest nuclear weapon ever detonated as it hit the ocean’s surface.

  The kinetic energy was more than 1,000 megatons; however, the object didn’t slow as it flashed through a half mile of ocean and into the sea bed, then into the mantel, and beyond.

  On the surface, the blast effect appeared as a thermal flash brighter than the sun. Everyone on the rooftop watched with wide-eyed terror as the Tualatin Mountains between Portland and the Pacific Ocean were outlined in blinding light. As the light began to dissipate, the outline of the mountains blurred as a dense bank of smoke climbed from the western range.

  The flash had incinerated everything on the other side.

  The physical blast, travelling much faster than any normal atmospheric shockwave, hit the mountains and tore them from the bedrock, adding them to the rolling wave of destruction traveling east at several thousand miles per hour. The people on the rooftops of Portland only had two seconds before the entire city was wiped away.