Last Stand on Talos Seven

by Rodney Hartman

  Last Stand on Talos Seven

  Book Two

  Wizard Scout Trinity Delgado

  Rodney W. Hartman

  DEDICATION

  ______________________________

  This book is dedicated to my niece Amy. You have touched a lot of people over the years and made their lives better in ways you may never realize.

  Copyright © 2018 by Rodney Wayne Hartman

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner without the express written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Cover by Streetlight Graphics

  ___________________________

  Books by Rodney Hartman

  Wizard Scout Trinity Delgado Series

  Trinity Unleashed

  Intergalactic Wizard Scout Chronicles

  Wizard Defiant Book One

  Wizard Cadet Book Two

  Wizard Scout Book Three

  Wizard Omega Book Four

  Wizard Rebellion Book Five

  Wizard Betrayed Book Six

  Wizard Redeemed Book Seven

  Wizard Defender Book Eight

  Table of Contents

  ______________________________

  DEDICATION

  Copyright

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1 – Tribute

  Chapter 2 – Smoking Hole

  Chapter 3 – Plea for Help

  Chapter 4 – Unexpected Visitor

  Chapter 5 – Bail

  Chapter 6 – Supply Sergeant

  Chapter 7 – Maintenance

  Chapter 8 – Planning Session

  Chapter 9 – Outpost

  Chapter 10 – Hope

  Chapter 11 – Jerad

  Chapter 12 – Spy in the Sky

  Chapter 13 – Lucky

  Chapter 14 – Unexpected Find

  Chapter 15 – Shared Secret

  Chapter 16 – Hope

  Chapter 17 – Betrayal

  Chapter 18 – Grand Admiral

  Chapter 19 – Hover Tank

  Chapter 20 – Crosoian Scout

  Chapter 21 – Scout Ship

  Chapter 22 – Aftermath

  Chapter 23 – Backdoor

  Chapter 24 – Launch

  Chapter 25 – War

  Chapter 26 – Bombardment and Assault

  Chapter 27 – The Ravine

  Chapter 28 – Anti-Energy

  Chapter 29 – Sacrifice

  Chapter 30 – Breach

  Chapter 31 – Tea and Crumpets

  Chapter 32 – Cavalry

  Chapter 33 – Trecor

  Chapter 34 – Grand Admiral

  Chapter 35 – Reunion

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Chapter 1 – Tribute

  ______________________________

  Anna McCarthy stood in the center of the dusty city plaza along with the rest of the town’s two thousand inhabitants. The gray, sunbaked stones of the three and four story buildings lining the plaza reflected the heat from the summer sun. Droplets of sweat trickled down the side of Anna’s face. She ignored them. She knew that there would be a lot more to worry about in a few minutes than a few drops of sweat.

  Today wouldn’t be the first offering ceremony she’d attended during her sixteen years of life, but it never got any easier. She balled both of her fists and looked up into the sky along with the rest of the crowd. A medium-sized Balorian pirate space transport hovered a kilometer overhead. While the starship’s arrival wasn’t totally unexpected, the reality of its appearance on such short notice was still a little intimidating.

  The mayor and the rest of the town council had to scramble in order to get everything ready for the arrival of the pirates, she thought. They weren’t due for another two weeks. I’m doubt the mayor’s efforts are going to do any good. There’s no way the pirates are going to be satisfied with the offering this time.

  The roar of the starship’s ion engines was accompanied by a sudden downdraft of wind. The resulting breeze was strong enough to create miniature dust devils in the rocky soil of the plaza. A lock of Anna’s shoulder-length red hair blew across her face. She raised a hand and brushed the errant strand back in place, tucking it underneath her dust-covered utility cap as best she could. As she lowered her hand, she noticed the red coloring and blistered skin on her arm.

  I’ve been working in the pit mine too much lately.

  She glanced at the sunburned arms of the others in the crowd. One of the younger children caught Anna’s eye. Like her, the girl had been overexposed to the blazing summer sun of Talos Seven. The sight forced any thoughts of self-pity out of Anna’s mind.

  Everyone’s been working in the mines a lot lately. I’m no better than anyone else.

  Glancing around, she noticed a redheaded boy her age standing across the street. The teen boy was Connor. Like usual, he was with his friends Artrim and Dylan. All three boys were staring up at the starship. Even from a distance, Anna could tell Connor’s bright-blue eyes were filled with anger as he stared at the hovering ship. She didn’t blame him.

  He hates the pirates almost as much as I do. Why shouldn’t he? Both of his parents died in the same mine accident that killed my mom and dad. They were only working at the mine because of the pirates.

  Anna wiped at something threatening to spill out of her eyes.

  And for what? Just for trying to get more of the pirates’ precious metal scrapped together to prevent our town from being destroyed. Both Connor’s parents and mine died needlessly.”

  Anna looked around at the crowd. Young or old, they all looked tired.

  An early death’s probably going to be all of our fates if somebody doesn’t do something about the pirates soon. The mine’s almost played out. The pirates will either be moving us to another planet or mining asteroid as their slave labor or killing us to keep our mouths shut. We should be fighting back, not waiting around like sheep for the slaughter.

  The signs of defeat were evident in the eyes of her fellow Talosians as they waited for the pirates to come down for their processed titanium ore. Anna detected no fight in the citizens of Talos. She switched her gaze to the pile of half-meter square blocks stacked on the metal platform that had been set up in the center of the plaza. The pile of blocks was only two-thirds as large as she remembered it being the last time the Balorian pirates had come for their tribute.

  They definitely aren’t going to be happy, but what was the mayor supposed to do? It’s not his fault the titanium vein’s running out. We can’t mine something’s that’s not there.

  Their fault or not, Anna had no illusions about the pirates’ reaction. She had no doubt that the Balorians were going to be furious. She looked at Mayor O’Reilly as the middle-aged man stood alone on the metal platform. From his downcast eyes, she felt certain the old man was just as aware of the pirates’ pending fury.

  He’s forbidden anyone else to stand on the tribute platform with him. He’s accepted his fate.

  Instinctively, Anna touched the bulge under her shirt where she’d tucked the hunting knife in her belt.

  Well, if no one else is going to fight, I will. I’m not going to let him face that scum alone. If I get a chance, I’ll kill one of the pirates, grab his weapon, and start blasting. Maybe the whole town will rise up against them once they see someone fighting back.

  The thoughts of what she’d seen in the crowd’s eyes told Anna she was wrong. She reached her hand under he
r shirt and gripped the handle of her knife anyway.

  Well, I’m no coward. The pirates the same as murdered my parents. Somehow; someway; I’m going to make them pay.

  Taking another look around, Anna noticed Connor staring at her. When he caught her eye, he nodded and began walking across the street in her direction. Within seconds he was standing on her left side pretending to concentrate on the hovering transport.

  “Don’t do it,” whispered Connor out the side of his mouth.

  Also pretending to look at the starship, Anna glanced out the corner of her left eye at the boy. Despite his sunburned face, she thought he was moderately handsome. She supposed the common loss of their parents three years earlier gave them a bond of sorts. Even so, they were far from friends. Unlike Connor, who seemed to get along with most people, she was a loner. She preferred keeping to herself most of the time. As it so happened, this was one of those times.

  “Mind your own business,” Anna snapped back, trying to keep her voice low. She doubted anyone else could hear since the roar of the starship drowned out even normal speech beyond a couple of paces, but she wasn’t taking any chances. “Go back to your friends. I don’t want you here.”

  The boy made no move to leave.

  “Listen,” said Connor. “I know how you feel. I feel the same way, but getting yourself killed won’t do anyone any good.” He nodded toward the mayor. “He’s given up, but I haven’t, and I know you haven’t either. Believe me, I’d like nothing better than to jump on whoever comes down and kill them to make up for what they did to my parents. But think for a minute. Let’s say we do kill everyone in the landing party. Then what? That ship up there could blast us to atomized dust with their plasma cannons or drop a nuke down our throats. Either way, we’d all be dead. Are you trying to get everyone in town killed?”

  Anna sensed the boy look away from the hovering starship to glance at her. She turned and locked eyes with him. “We could take their shuttle and go somewhere. Any where’s better than this.”

  The boy snorted and gave one of his irritating smirks.

  Anna suddenly remembered why she preferred to be by herself. She was half tempted to make a fist and wipe the smile off the teen’s face.

  “Do you know how to fly a shuttle?” asked Connor. “I certainly don’t.”

  The boy’s logic was like a bucket of cold water on Anna’s rising temper.

  “Yes,” Anna whispered, knowing full well she was telling a lie, but not wanting to give the irritating boy the satisfaction of being right. “Sort of,” she said refining her answer a little. “It doesn’t matter. I’m going to make those pirates pay one day. I’ve got a plan. It’ll work. I know it will.” Even to Anna, the last words sounded like she was trying to convince herself more than the boy.

  The smile disappeared from Connor’s face. “I believe you, but now’s not the time.” He glanced down at the bulge under Anna’s shirt. “Don’t do anything foolish.”

  “What’s it to you?” Anna asked. She let some of her hatred for the pirates creep into her voice. “Why do you care what I do or don’t do?”

  The boy glanced back at the hovering starship for a half-dozen heartbeats before looking back at her. “You’d find out a lot of people care about you if you’d give them half a chance.” Staring into her eyes, Connor said. “I care. We both lost our parents. We’ve both got a score to settle with those pirates. But plan or no plan, today’s not the day.” His blue eyes softened somewhat. “Promise me that you’ll wait before you do anything. Trust me. We’ll have our chance to strike back, but the time’s not now.”

  Anna moved her hand away from her shirt. “Fine. I’ll wait...for now, but only for now. I’m not going to stand around doing nothing much longer. You know as well as me that we’re all going to die if we don’t start fighting back.”

  “Fighting back with what?” hissed a winkled old man who’d suddenly appeared to the left of Connor. It was Old Man Ryan.

  Anna knew the old man well; at least by sight and reputation. Everyone in town did. As far as she could tell, he was in his late seventies, maybe even eighties. That he’d obviously heard her talking to Connor over the roar of the transport’s engines said a lot about his hearing.

  “You young pups have no idea what fighting’s all about,” continued the old man. “When I was serving on the Donovan in my prime, we’d have made short work of these Balorian pirates. The Donovan was just a survey ship, but she was the best in the district and armed to the teeth. I just wish—”

  “The Donovan’s been out of action for fifty years ever since she crashed on Talos Seven,” said Connor. “If our grandparent’s colony ship hadn’t picked up your distress signal, you and the rest of the Donovan’s crew would’ve starved to death. You’re lucky my grandparents and the other colonists decided to set up shop here. The soil was perfect for farming. It just needed a little help from technology to make things grow.”

  Anna thought back to how the vast plains around her had once been lush with all kinds of grain plants when she’d been young. She remembered running through wheat fields playing hide and seek with the other children while their parents ran the large combines to harvest the bounty of Talos Seven. That had been before the discovery of the titanium vein ten years ago. Six months after the find, the first of the pirate ships had arrived. Life on Talos Seven had been a living hell ever since. The vast fields of wheat and corn were no more. Only dusty ground stretching out between the town and the far off mountains remained.

  Old Man Ryan spit on the ground. “You don’t need to remind me. My crewmates and I appreciate what your grandparents, bless their hearts, and the other colonists did for us. We’ve done our best to fit in and do our part.”

  Anna had to admit the survivors of the Donovan’s crew had pulled their weight. Although not farmers, from what her grandparents had told her before they’d passed away, the old men and women who’d survived the crash of the survey ship had been worth their weight in creallium when it came to repairing the colonists’ heavy machinery whenever it broke down.

  There aren’t many of them left now, Anna thought. Besides Old Man Ryan, I think there’s only five or six still on the planet. What members of the Donovan’s crew didn’t catch rides back to civilization on supply ships over the years have mostly died off. Before long, all of them will be gone.

  A loud blast drew Anna’s attention back to the hovering transport. A large bay door was now open on the side of the starship. She noticed a shuttle making its way down toward the plaza.

  It won’t be long now, Anna thought. Now we’ll find out if the mayor’s scrapped together enough processed titanium ore to buy the pirates off for another six months.

  The shuttle landed in the clear space next to the metal platform. The crowd drew back even farther. Anna noticed Mayor O’Reilly square his shoulders and face the shuttle as the metal ramp at the rear of the craft lowered to the ground. The first thing out of the shuttle was a three-meter-high metallic monster constructed of black metal. The Ultra-Heavy Ambulatory Assault Vehicle, or UHAAV, walked on two legs and sported two appendages resembling arms. A four-barreled plasma rifle was attached to its right arm. In place of a hand on its left arm was a metallic claw. Anna could just make out of the features of the bearded pirate operator through the UHAAV’s front windscreen.

  UHAAVs are called cats, Anna thought. She touched the bulge under her shirt before pulling her hand away. Even in her hatred of the pirates, she knew the blade would do no good against armor. If we had some cats of our own, we could fight back, but we don’t. There probably aren’t a half-dozen hand-blasters in town. All we’ve got is a bunch of farming and mining equipment. We’re at the pirates’ mercy. Connor’s logic about not doing something foolish came back to her. It grated her to no end that the boy was right. But he’s not going to be right for long. I’ve got a plan. The next time the pirates come, we’ll be ready. Then we’ll make them pay. I swear it.

  The pirate in the UHAAV glanc
ed through the cat’s windscreen at the pile of processed titanium ore before looking at Mayor O’Reilly. “I hope for your sake that you’re joking,” came a gravelly voice over the light cat’s external speaker. “That pile of rubble will barely pay for our fuel to get here. Where’s the rest?”

  Mayor O’Reilly stepped forward to face the light cat. A half dozen pirates wearing power armor and carrying automatic plasma rifles trotted down the shuttle’s ramp. They made straight for the platform. Running up the steps, they took positions on either side of the mayor. The mayor paid them no heed. He stood tall and stared at the pirate in the cat.

  Anna had never thought much of the mayor, but she found a new respect for the man as he faced the pirate in the cat all alone.

  “There is no more,” said Mayor O’Reilly.

  Since the transport overhead had climbed another thousand meters, Anna had no trouble hearing the mayor’s voice above the starship’s subdued roar.

  “The titanium vein is running out,” continued the mayor. “You may as well take this and move on. We can’t mine what’s not there.”

  At his words, the six pirates standing near the mayor moved to the far edges of the platform giving him some space.

  Anna noticed a smile spread across the face of the pirate in the cat.

  In a lightning fast move, the cat’s right arm rose from the UHAAV’s side and pointed its four-barrelled plasma rifle at the mayor. The mayor barely had time to take a step back.

  Brrrp!

  Balls of plasma energy tore into Mayor O’Reilly, flinging his lifeless body over the rear part of the platform. Screams erupted from the crowd. People tried to flee. A handful of hardy souls surged toward the shuttle’s ramp. Bright beams of green plasma energy shot down from the hovering transport, blasting into unseen buildings on the southern edge of town. The explosions sent vehicle-sized pieces of concrete and metal beams flying high into the air before they went crashing back to earth.

  “Stay where you are!” shouted the pirate over the cat’s external speakers. “If any of you move out of the plaza or attack my men, our ship’s plasma cannon will destroy your town and kill every one of you. Then we’ll drop a few nukes to seal the deal before we leave.”