by Ken Lozito
Nemesis
First Colony - Book Two
Ken Lozito
Acoustical Books LLC
Copyright © 2017 by Ken Lozito
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Published by Acoustical Books, LLC
KenLozito.com
Cover design by Jeff Brown
Editor: Myra Shelley
Proofreader: Tamara Blain
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ISBN: 978-1-945223-13-6
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Afterword
About the Author
Also by Ken Lozito
Chapter One
General Connor Gates leaned against the railing on the observation deck of the Montgomery III construction platform and watched the spectacle unfolding before him with flinty eyes. Clutched within the platform’s massive robotic arms was the last major section of the Ark, the interstellar ship that brought the three hundred thousand colonists living on New Earth to this star system. Bright flashes of light ignited along the partially finished hull of the Colonial Defense Force’s first battleship carrier.
“Glaring won’t make them work any faster,” Reisman said.
Connor arched an eyebrow at Wil Reisman. The man was part of the original Ghost Platoon that Connor had commanded before being “volunteered” into the Ark program. At Connor’s age, being drugged, stuck in a stasis pod, and then snuck aboard Earth’s first interstellar colony ship couldn’t exactly be called a kidnapping; “shanghaied” was the nautical term for what happened to Connor and the surviving members of Ghost Platoon. Though it had been seven years since he’d come out of stasis only to learn that he was now part of the colony, it was still sometimes a bitter pill to swallow. But the actions of Admiral Mitch Wilkinson had ultimately been for their benefit. If he hadn’t done what he’d done, it was likely that he and his old platoon would have rotted in a military prison—that is, until they perished when all the people back home mysteriously died.
“We’re a year behind schedule for this ship,” Connor said.
“Priorities,” Reisman said. “Titan Space Station came first and is our first line of defense against an attack force.”
Connor speared a look at his friend.
“Kasey advised that I was to remind you of the obvious things from time to time,” Reisman said.
Connor remembered when Reisman had been just a fresh-faced intelligence officer. His talent for intelligence gathering had made him a valuable asset back then, and now, with the Colonial Defense Force being so small, former Ghosts were nearly irreplaceable. They were among the few who had actual combat experience in the new colony.
A chime sounded from the nearby speakers. “General Gates, please report to the hangar bay for immediate departure,” the monotone voice of the computer systems said.
“That’s our cue to leave,” Connor said.
They left the observation deck and started making their way to the hangar bay, where Connor’s shuttle waited for him.
“You wouldn’t think it would take a congressional hearing to get resources for the defense of the colony,” Connor said.
Reisman shrugged. “Gone are the days of big budgets and a unified effort for a common purpose.”
Connor snorted. “Budgets—as if money had anything to do with it.”
“Allocation of resources then. There’s only so much to go around.”
“I guess I should feel lucky that Titan Space Station is at least mostly completed. Now, if we only had enough power stations to operate all the weapons systems at the same time,” Connor said dryly.
Reisman pressed his lips together and shrugged, unable to think up a reply.
Connor nodded. “Exactly.”
The new governor, Stanton Parish, wasn’t their staunchest supporter these days. When they’d first put the CDF together, Connor had the backing of most colonists, but as more people were brought out of stasis over the years, support had begun to wane. Now it was an almost endless debate to get the resources they needed to finish the defense initiatives they’d already begun.
They entered the hangar bay, and Connor shoved the inner doors open. Thinking about meeting with Governor Parish was enough to ruin his mood.
There were fewer than a hundred people stationed on the platform, along with a fleet of robotic workers. Work on the final piece of the Ark had only just resumed after the project had been put on hold due to resource constraints.
They crossed the hangar bay to the dull gray shuttle with a golden sunburst painted on the side, the CDF emblem now faded from extensive use. They walked up the loading ramp and entered the transport. Connor’s protective detail was waiting for him.
Sean Quinn stuck his head out from the cockpit. “We’re cleared to leave.”
“Okay, let’s get going then,” Connor said and sat down near a window. He’d rather be meeting with Tobias Quinn, Sean’s father, who had been governor of the colony until the election last year. At least Tobias had given much more than provisional support to the CDF.
One of the perks that came with Connor’s rank was that he rarely had to fly himself anywhere. But the thing was, he missed flying. Reisman sat next to him, opened up his PDA, and brought up Connor’s schedule.
Connor glanced at the screen. “I’ll be right back.”
He climbed to his feet and headed for the cockpit, where he opened the door. There were two seats in front of the instrument control panel and an empty seat off to the side.
“Is this seat taken?” Connor asked and sat down.
The copilot’s eyes widened.
“All yours, General,” Sean said. “Flight check, Lieutenant.”
The copilot swung his gaze back to his station. “Cleared for takeoff, sir.”
“Acknowledged,” Sean said and informed the flight officer that they were ready for launch.
The shuttle lifted off, and the landing gear withdrew into the hull. Connor watched as Sean swung the nose about and took them out of the hangar.
“Let’s do a quick flyby,” Connor said.
“But, sir, we’re already pressed to reach Sierra in time.”
Connor looked at the copilot, and his identification appeared on his internal HUD—Lieutenant Anthony Frook, pilot assigned to the protector’s division of the Colonial Defense Force.
“They’ll wait,” Connor said.
Making the congressional committee wait wouldn’t increase his chances of getting what he needed, but Connor knew that even if he was on time he was unlikely to get what he needed.
Sean updated their heading and brought the construction site into view. Since the
y were using part of the Ark for the battleship carrier’s construction, the interior was already mostly laid out. There were some adjustments to the design that needed to happen to make her a military ship, but it was much quicker than starting from scratch.
“She’s coming along. Looks like they’ve already got some of the heavy cannons installed,” Sean said.
Connor glanced up and, indeed, saw the cannons. “Impressive looking but not worth anything without the ammunition tracks to arm the thing or the depot ready to even store the ammunition. I would much rather have had the missile tubes finished than the rail-cannons installed.”
Sean didn’t reply.
“Alright, take us to Sierra,” Connor said.
Sierra was the capital city of the colony on New Earth. Thinking of the colony led Connor to reflect on the humble beginnings of the compound that had been there before. As Sean changed the shuttle’s course and started heading toward the planet, the light from the sun illuminated the planetary rings that surrounded New Earth. Connor had long gotten used to seeing them, but they were still a stunningly brilliant display as well as a reminder that no matter what they called this planet, it was a very different place than what they’d left back home.
“Sir, we’re being hailed from the Vigilant,” Sean said.
Connor turned toward the main heads-up display. “Put him through.”
Captain Ian Howe appeared on screen. “General, I wanted to let you know that we’ll be ready for departure tomorrow. Captain Benson of the cargo ship is waiting for final approval to depart.”
“I delayed approval in hopes that there would be some extra things to be added to his manifest,” Connor replied.
Howe nodded. “That’s what I told him. CDF destroyers Banshee and Wyatt are on standby for escort duty.”
“This is the fun part,” Connor said.
Sean glanced at Connor but didn’t say anything.
“Since you have the extra time, make sure the Vigilant is fully stocked,” Connor said.
The sides of Howe’s face lifted upward. “Understood, sir. Vigilant out.”
Connor glanced at Sean. “Yes?”
Sean checked the shuttle’s approach to the planet. “Nothing, sir. I was just remembering when I first heard you say those words. The fun part, I mean.”
Connor nodded. Sean had been in the first class for Search and Rescue before he transferred to the CDF. He now led his own platoon, which was currently assigned directly to Connor.
“Then I’m sure you can guess what comes next,” Connor said.
“Wouldn’t be good at my job if I couldn’t at least anticipate your orders, sir,” Sean said.
Connor left the cockpit and returned to his seat. They were still another forty minutes out. To the casual onlooker, it appeared that Connor was taking a nap, but what he was really doing was using his implants to check that the plans he’d set up were in motion. Since there were so few people in the Colonial Defense Force with actual military experience, Connor went to great lengths to ensure that drills were as realistic as possible. He knew that all the training in the world could only go so far until a soldier was in the thick of it, but he aimed to get their soldiers as ready for action as he could. If that meant an excessive amount of training and mock execution of tactics, then so be it.
Chapter Two
The shuttle made its final approach to the CDF airfield located at Sierra. The sprawling city and expansion projects were enough to keep most of the predators at bay. They didn’t live behind electrified fences anymore, thanks to the countermeasures they’d developed to dissuade predators from getting too close. There were also deterrent systems in place that helped defend Sierra’s denizens until Field Operations and Security could arrive.
The shuttle landed, and Connor climbed out of his seat. Reisman went ahead of him to make sure ground transportation was ready. The shuttle door opened and a breath of warm, humid air blew inside the cabin. Connor preferred the settlements farther away, where the climate was significantly drier than it was here, but this was the cradle of civilization here on New Earth.
“Sir,” Sean called out to him, “there’s been another ancient city discovered farther inland. I was wondering if you’d heard about it.”
Connor frowned. “Any ryklars in the area?” The last time they’d found a city built by the alien civilization that used to live on this planet, they’d triggered a silent alarm. The local apex predators, known as ryklars, had begun hunting humans as a result. Once they’d disabled the alarm, the ryklars migrated to another area, and it had been years since any had been seen near Sierra.
Sean shook his head. “No, and no defense mechanism to call them in either.”
Connor walked down the ramp and saw that there was no ground transport waiting for them.
“They’re requesting that an aerial scan of the alien city be performed,” Sean said and then glanced away to speak to someone through his comlink.
Connor checked the time.
“Should be here in a few minutes,” Reisman said.
Connor started walking and the other men followed. He glanced at Sean. “Why are you telling me this?”
“I thought you’d be interested,” Sean said and looked away guiltily.
Connor quickened his pace. He knew what Sean was implying. He hadn’t seen Lenora in months.
“And the things the archaeological team discovered could have—”
“That’s enough, Captain,” Connor warned. “I don’t have time to placate the people who spend all their time digging in the dirt—not when there’s a colony to defend. If they’re in trouble, the request should go through Search and Rescue. If they want a survey done, that request goes through Field Ops and not the Colonial Defense Force.”
Connor didn’t wait for a reply. A ground vehicle that had been barreling its way toward them came to a stop. Connor opened the door and climbed inside. “What the hell took you so long? I hope you can find the congressional building faster than you picked me up.”
The driver apologized, and Wil Reisman took the front seat.
Connor opened the window and looked at Sean. “Make sure the shuttle’s refueled and ready to leave. I don’t plan on being planet-side for long.”
The vehicle pulled away, and Reisman turned around with a question on his lips.
Connor held up his index finger. “Don’t!”
Reisman frowned and turned back around. Connor was tired of people prying into his personal life. With the safety of New Earth resting squarely on his shoulders, he didn’t have much time for relationships, despite the colonial mandate that encouraged procreation among the colonists. Family units in the colony were very different from what they’d been back on Earth. There were children and their immediate parents, but families were also reinforced by extended families and support groups that greatly eased the colonists’ burdens of raising children. Education programs were geared toward learning about New Earth, and most things that had comprised Connor’s life until seven years ago were referred to as Old Earth history.
While he had a strong connection with Lenora Bishop, she had no interest in having children. She was dedicated to learning all she could about the alien civilization that had thrived here. Most archeologists believed that intelligent life had flourished here from a few hundred to a thousand years before humans arrived. The debate was still ongoing about what had happened to them. But Connor was more concerned with the impact of what that civilization had done to the ecosystem of the planet. Predators like the ryklars and berwolves had been genetically modified, which made them highly intelligent and quite dangerous. The ryklars had abandoned this part of the continent and migrated away once the alien signal that triggered some latent protection protocol within them had been removed. At that point, ryklars had ceased attacking humans. Berwolf hunting packs required more persuasion, but there were some groups living far away from the cities that sought to tame the predators.
The vehicle drove along the paved s
treets of Sierra. The shimmering, bronze-colored buildings were constructed of a refined alloy they’d discovered among the alien ruins. It was light and strong. The resulting city looked familiar—since the architecture was similar to what they’d had back on Earth—but also alien as well, due in part to the materials used in the construction of the buildings.
They drove toward a large dome-shaped building where the golden sunburst flag draped unmoving in a windless sky. The vehicle pulled to a stop and Connor opened his own door. He and Reisman climbed the stairs and entered the building. Connor sent his credentials along the network, and they quickly passed through the security checkpoint.
A handsome older woman waited for him. She had her arms crossed in front of her chest and her thick brown hair was pulled back.
“Trying to make an entrance by arriving late?” Dr. Ashley Quinn asked and made a show of looking behind Connor. “And you didn’t even bring Sean with you.”
“No, Mother, I didn’t bring him up,” Connor replied.
“Mother?” Ashley snorted and arched an eyebrow at him. “I’m certainly not your mother, but I would accept the role of big sister.”
Connor leaned in and kissed Ashley on the cheek as she patted his arms. “Well, in that case, I think we’re fine then.”
Ashley eyed him for a moment. “I know you only need two hours of sleep, but you’re looking a bit worse for the wear.”
“Why is it that whenever I have to come to one of these things it’s you who gets to walk me inside?” Connor asked.
