Trial by Ice (A Star Too Far Book 1)

by Casey Calouette

  After speaking with Sebastien, he felt a deep sadness, but a deep respect as well. He didn’t blame him—how could he? He awoke a new man, a man with a tie to his past. A man who would do those proud who came before him.

  The bulkheads throughout the ship were sealed tight. Only the main passageway was open. The flimsy emergency suits were laid out on the tables of the galley like oversized paper cutouts.

  The Haydn drive was tucked into its armored cocoon, humming gently. He ran his hand over the textured exterior and wondered how old it was. What had it seen on so many a starry field?

  William walked onto the bridge and saw Eduardo kneeling at the side of the room. His arms were bare, a wooden beaded rosary hung from his fingers. The tattoos were subtle, shifting, smoky.

  Eduardo stopped his prayer and stood up slowly and unashamed. He retreated to a console and sat in silence. His face was smooth and serene with a slight smile. “Good morning.”

  “Good morning, indeed,” William said as he scanned the console. The Hun marauder was decelerating hard. When they came into range they’d still be at a higher velocity, but not so fast that they couldn’t pummel the corvette. He keyed the comm link. “In about thirty minutes, we engage. Grab a bite to eat and just relax.”

  Tero and Xan walked onto the bridge silently and sat at the consoles. Von Hess limped in later and sat quietly with the carbon leads on his chest. Sebastien entered last and dropped a heap of the emergency suits in the corner of the room.

  The marauder wore a rough nose that had the look of dimpled sand.

  “Here they come,” mumbled Tero.

  “Von Hess, if you please,” William said without taking his eyes off the display.

  Von Hess scooted himself deeper into the cradle and attached the leads to his temples. The view rotated slightly as he danced the corvette about.

  The marauders railguns swung out and opened fire. The repulsor fields winked and shuddered with each and every impact. Von Hess dodged and shifted to avoid many of the impacts. The railguns fired for fifteen minutes before the missiles launched.

  The floor shuddered as the mass drivers pulsed out round after round to try and shatter the missiles. They did well, but not well enough. The display was filled with incandescent flashes as nickel slugs collided with the incoming barrage.

  The missiles exploded upon the field and redlined the repulsors. A split second later one of the railguns landed a glancing blow onto the armor. The heat generated caused alarms to appear on the edges of the display.

  The corvette rotated slowly and the fresher side of the field faced the enemy. Alarms dropped away as the nanites swarmed the damaged armor and worked to mend the seam.

  William felt relief that the first wave was intercepted, but as the marauder came closer, more missiles would strike. The mass driver would have less time. Worst of all, the railguns would eventually strike them in a broadside. He glanced at Von Hess. “Dodge as best you can, but keep us moving towards the blink point.”

  Von Hess smiled and nodded. The ship continued to roll and pulse on all axes.

  William waited to fire. He had the advantage of picking his shots while they would be forced to pass by. He checked his program and laid it into place. “We’re going to fire in about thirty seconds. They’ll respond before we can fire again. I need us as close to them as possible.”

  The tactical display laid out the planned course and Von Hess agreed with a grunt.

  “Nanites are working, but we’re down 25% on that section. The repulsors are going to, uh, overload on the next barrage,” Tero said.

  William nodded. They needed to survive one more blast, one more good hit and they could at least leave them with some scars. He felt strangely liberated as he watched the program activate.

  The pellets strafed along the hull of the marauder in green flashes. A moment later the railguns opened up with a pair of rounds that sizzled against the marauder. The mass driver slowed and paused. Both weapons needed to cool.

  William turned and nodded to Sebastien. “Close the bulkhead please Mr. Villeneuve.”

  The bulkhead slid shut and the pressure rose just slightly. The room felt warmer, tighter, as they awaited the next barrage.

  The mouth of the railguns glowed on the display with the rounds landing a moment later. Alarms flared. The missiles were inbound in a sea of glowing flame. The mass drivers shuddered and sent more nickel downstream but there wasn’t enough time.

  The ship was rolling as the missiles struck but it wasn’t enough. The blasts punched through the already weakened fields. Expanding fields of shrapnel and plasma etched at the nickel armor dissolving and punching through the outer layers before creeping inwards.

  It’s easy to think of a starship as a great hulking animal, but in all realities it is a fragile and subtle creature. Once you let the vacuum in, it begins to fail. Systems throughout the ship winked alarms as the power was routed around the breach.

  William watched the display scroll through the disabled systems. Every single one was critical. There was no such thing as a nonessential piece of equipment. The most critical systems blinked loudly on the display. Half the ship was without any power and the grav drive was running at reduced capacity. The mass driver showed as a gray line. Unknown.

  “Tero?” William asked.

  “I see it. I don’t know, it has power, but wait. Yes, shit. It’s jammed, the tracking servo.” Tero slammed on the console.

  William felt his face flush. They had one chance, one lucky chance. If they could stop even a few of the inbound missiles, they might blink out. Without the mass driver, they’d be torn apart. He knew if he had a full compliment of engineers they could EVA and clear it.

  “I don’t know if I can spread the next blow onto both fields,” Von Hess said. Perspiration sparkled on his forehead.

  The air shifted on the bridge.

  William turned and saw Sebastien running out with one of the emergency suits under his arm.

  “You’ll have to direct me,” Sebastien clicked through. “I don’t know the way.”

  Tero looked to William.

  William’s heart dropped. The augment would be outside when the Hun marauder began the next barrage. The corvette might survive one more blast, but no one outside would. Without the mass drivers, they would all die.

  “Mr. Tero, guide him out, please.”

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  Redemption

  The display slowly ticked down until the marauder could fire again. The two ships moved forward towards the falling edge of the crest.

  William listened with dread and guilt as Tero walked Sebastien through the narrow confines of the ship to an airlock that was yet functioning. His eyes darted from the countdown to the weapon status.

  “Once you’re out, there will be a guidewire. Snap onto it and follow it. You should see the mass driver,” Tero said.

  Ragged breathing came through the comms. “Got it. I see the guide, moving now.”

  The corvette was almost parallel with the marauder. The pair would slide by in a few more moments. The next barrage would smash into the corvette just slightly behind it. The repulsors were still maxed out while the nanite repair systems flashed error. The corvette was seriously wounded, but not yet dead.

  “Oh wow,” Sebastien said.

  “He must have came over the curve,” Tero said.

  “It uh, there’s a big hole. I need to unclip.”

  William felt the hair on the back of his neck tingle. He hated working in zero-g. He hated doing it without a tether even more. A blackness washed over him as he truly realized Sebastien would be dead in under a minute.

  A heaving and grunting sound came over the comms. “Oof, she’s stuck.”

  “Sensor banks are dead for most of the ship, we’re blind, we have to keep that side facing him or we can’t respond,” Xan said.

  William ran his hand through his hair. One more volley. Would it even matter if they couldn’t stop it?

  T
he corvette rocked as the Hun railguns opened fire once more. Error messages and warnings flashed onto the display faster than they could be read.

  “They launched!” Tero yelled.

  The marauder blossomed into a halo of flame as the missiles approached. Each burned at high velocity towards the corvette.

  An animal roar bellowed through the comms. Sebastien. The display for the mass driver winked a bright green and it fired.

  William engaged the weapons control and everything fired.

  The Hun marauder was slightly past the ideal point when the railgun burst out a single round. It flew across the narrow gap and pulsed against the repulsor field. Every generator on the Hun marauder fought and strained but couldn’t maintain the field against a single point with that much force. It blinked white for a moment and buried itself into the hull of the marauder.

  The wound gushed atmosphere. The edges of the hole burned with nanite fire. The round had punched deep into the marauder and delivered a wicked blow. Had it been followed by a half dozen more, the marauder would have been destroyed, but one wasn’t enough.

  William stood and laid his hand on the console. He took a deep breath and watched the impact timer hit zero. The mass driver didn’t have enough time to knock out many of the missiles.

  His friend was stuck outside and had nowhere to go. He turned to look at those around him and saw all eyes on him. It was his command, his loss, his failure. He wanted to call out and warn him but he knew Sebastien had a better view than anyone. His last connection to his past would be dead in moments.

  Alarms flared. The entire corvette shuddered as the missiles burned through the remaining repulsor fields and burst upon what was left of the armor. Atmosphere vented. The ship suddenly found itself in zero-gravity as the internal generators were destroyed. They now simply drifted.

  Systems turned gray. William could tell that whatever they did now would not matter. He looked down at his hand and steadied himself in the absence of gravity. He was surprised that he didn’t feel more, nothing but a slight sense of regret.

  “If you can hear this, get into your suits, they might come for survivors,” William clicked through the comms. He hoped it would make it to anyone who was alive. He steered himself slowly down onto the chair and clipped himself in.

  “Get up!” Eduardo howled. His arms burned in a shimmering fire of nanite rage.

  William turned away and watched the screen. He failed his friends. He failed his duty. The ship was lost and he’d go with it.

  Eduardo crashed into the wall next to him a suit clutched to his chest. “Hey, hey! Wake up!”

  William blocked out the sounds around him and tried to picture his father. The caverns, the toy horses, the day he left. Sebastien and the other Marines leading him from Armageddon.

  Eduardo slapped him full on. The blow spun Eduardo back into the wall. “Enter the codes! They’re here!”

  William blinked and snapped his head up. The Hun marauder glittered as projectiles impacted the hull. Atmosphere blew out from multiple points as converging fire gutted it. He focused and realized everyone was yelling. The corvette wasn’t firing.

  “We need fleet codes—now! Codes!” Xan shouted as he hovered over the console.

  William unclipped himself and pushed off with his feet. He caught the edge of the comms console and punched in his personnel code. The fleet? Here? He couldn’t believe it. “Everyone hole up! We’ve got friendlies inbound!”

  The display flashed an acceptance code and continued to scroll alarms and error codes. The ship was shattered and broken, coasting through space totally blind to where the fleet was.

  “They’re talking,” Xan said.

  “—orvette please identify yourself and confirm ID code. Corvette please identify yourself and confirm ID code. This is the United Colonies Ship Yosemite.” The message continued.

  William pushed the respond button highlighted on the slab. “Yosemite, this is Midshipman William Grace, formerly of the Lawrence.”

  “Lawrence?” There was a pause. “We’re sending over a tender.”

  The voices of the survivors burst over his comms and crashed in his ears. He could hear all of the voices cheering and hooting.

  All of the voices except Sebastien.

  They sat in the galley of the Yosemite and felt like animals in the zoo. Men found excuses to pass through to congratulate, celebrate, to see the impossible. No one survived a starship crash.

  The Marines and soldiers sat near to each other and looked proudly upon Grace. They retold the tales of the ice fields, the boat, the assault—everything. The chubby faced Commander and the bald Lieutenant listened and took notes, stunned by what they heard. A tub of ice cream melted in the center of the table untouched.

  William stared down at his freshly bound left hand. They told him they couldn’t do anything until he was back on a major colony or Earth. Marines in white uniforms came for him at the Admirals command.

  “Sir, Midshipman Grace reporting. Sir.” William snapped to attention and felt terribly tired. He couldn’t quite find the proper spot for a missing hand on his coveralls.

  “At ease Mr. Grace, sit.” The Admiral beckoned with clean hands. He took a set of tumblers from his desk and poured a smoky brown liquid into them. The Admiral handed a glass over with a nod.

  William took the offered glass and held it in his hand.

  “Young man, you have done an amazing thing.” The Admiral raised his glass and took a stiff drink.

  William nodded and sipped. The slippery liquid burned as it rolled down his throat. Scotch. He told the Admiral what he had told the Lieutenant and the Commander.

  The Admiral listened and sipped his scotch. “You’ll be heading back to Earth on the Lisbon in a few hours. You just fought the first battle of this war, Mr. Grace.”

  William nodded, drinking. It hadn’t felt like a battle. It simply felt like survival. Nothing felt like what he thought it would.

  “Mark my words, mark them well. None of this is going to end well. Worlds are going to fall. We need good officers, men who know how to lead.” The Admiral looked William in the eye and held his gaze. “It ain’t gonna end well.”

  William agreed and finished his drink. It was like ash in his mouth.

  END

  Below is a sample of Edge of Solace. After this is a sample of Casey’s newest novel, Steel Breach.

  Hello Reader,

  I hope you enjoyed Trial by Ice. I’ve had many of you write me and ask what’s next for William Grace. Well, now you don’t have to wait any longer, the trilogy is done. Will we find William living happily ever after? Not quite, not in this universe. You’ll find a sample of the next book in a couple of pages.

  When I wrote Trial by Ice I got so many letters asking about the book, the characters, the universe. Some had opinions about the Navy, the characters, and the plot. As an author I love honest feedback. You are the reason I’ve explored William as a character. So, tell me what you loved or hated. You can write me at casey@caseycalouette.com or find me at http://caseycalouette.com

  Finally I need to ask a favor. If you’re so inclined, I’d love an honest review of Trial by Ice. Loved it, hated it, - I’d just enjoy your feedback.

  As you may notice on my books reviews are hard to come by. You, the reader, have the power to make or break a book. If you have the time, here’s a link to my author page at Amazon. You can find a list of all of my books here : http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B004IWHH8O

  Thank you so much for reading Trial by Ice and for spending your time with me.

  Graciously,

  Casey

  Sample Chapter

  Edge of Solace

  Edge of Solace

  Book Two in A Star Too Far Series

  CHAPTER ONE

  Position

  Major Archibald Theodore strutted down the narrow hallway. The Major did not walk. The Major did not march. He did not even stroll. He strutted.

  Narrow access shafts flic
kered by as he continued deeper into the hull of the orbital station. The smell of the place changed from processed food and people to machinery and chemicals. The tang of chlorine was particularly strong.

  He tapped the Colt holstered onto his hip and nodded. Chatter echoed through his ears as the local communications net linked all of the Marines.

  The Colonel spoke and the chatter ceased. “Twenty minutes. Weapons locked, drones prepped, but be civil. This is a freighter, not a warship.”

  Archie rounded a sharp corner and strutted into a small armored command room. Above the door, on the inside, was stenciled ‘Safe #2’. Inside sat a rack of combat shotguns with frangible slugs, three suits of nanite-coated pattern armor and a set of emergency hull breach kits. A monitoring and command panel was merged into the far wall. A Marine Sergeant with deep olive skin stood at attention.

  “Evening, Sergeant Hakimi,” Archie said. “At ease.” He stood next to the panel with his hands on his hips. “Seen the Commander yet?”

  “No, sir,” the Sergeant replied in a French accent. He relaxed his shoulders and peered out the hatch.

  The command panel showed the inside of the cavernous receiving area. Marines were arrayed around the massive airlocks in full armor. Full dress armor, as the Colonel was fond of saying. The pair of platoons barely ranked a Captain let alone a Colonel, but the only transfer station to the Sa’Ami was deserving of someone with more tact.

  The panel swapped to show the view outside. The slender, but bulbous, form of a Sa’Ami freighter was slowly approaching. Heat shimmered from red-tinted niobium alloy heat sinks on the spine of the vessel.

  The panel swapped once more to show the opposite side. A half dozen civilian freighters were tethered and waiting for the opportunity to trade. Sa’Ami technology was of particular interest but they were extraordinarily shrewd and rarely struck a favorable bargain. One side sought the Sa’Ami technology—the other, consumer goods. Brand names still in demand among those who could afford it.