by John Walker
Offensive
Rise Of Mankind
Book 9
John Walker
Copyright © 2017 John Walker
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
DISCLAIMER
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, business, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. This story contains explicit language and violence.
Blurb
The end of war seems within grasp but terrorists threaten to undermine invasion plans. Orion’s Light has been a thorn in the side of the government for some time but intelligence director Siva Wih’Faren has taken it upon herself to finish them off once and for all. She engages The Behemoth and The Crystal Font to launch a daring plan, an attack on the criminal fleet and their secret base.
As they prepare for conflict, special agent Trellan En’Dal infiltrates the Orion’s Light to assassinate their leader, the nefarious Krilan Ar’Vax. As he ingratiates himself to the wicked leader, the Alliance attacks, putting him in a dangerous bind which may lead to him having to make a choice: complete his assignment or escape alive.
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Epilogue
Prologue
A cause. The pirate head hunter promised his employers weren’t just standard criminals looking for trouble. Trellan En’Dal knew a lot about the galaxy’s underworld and there were precious few organizations who cared about anything but money, weapons to get more wealth or ships to transport their stolen property.
Orion’s Light. It has to be them.
On the verge of galactic war with the greatest enemy the alliance had ever known, a highly efficient, and home grown, terrorist group rose up to behave like jackals. Their leader, a former Anthar with the Alliance navy, served time for war crimes before escaping. He formed Orion’s Light in answer to how he’d been treated and managed to keep it a secret for years.
And when he came out, did he ever.
They’d been responsible for the murder of civilians, the destruction of colonies, piracy and inciting civil war. Trellan had been assigned to break down their organization but it wasn’t as simple as showing up at a recruitment station. They took on recruits in only a few ways. Many men were pressed into service. Volunteers had to prove themselves.
So Trellan went around doing jobs for pirates, always talking about causes and how he wanted something more out of his life. It took a long time but he finally got on a crew working for Orion’s Light. He even made it so far as to one of their ships before it was destroyed and he was forced to flee. Nearly at square one, this time he had a bargaining chip, something to speed up his recruitment.
During a civil conflict, Orion’s Light stole some weapon plans which would give them the ability to knock out a crew once the enemy’s shields were down. Trellan came into possession of them just before his ride was destroyed and he had to get in an escape pod. Now, he just needed to find them and offer it up to the right person.
This new idiot, a pirate head hunter who called himself Remus, seemed intent on selling this whole cause thing. Trellan began to wonder if the man was a liar but he didn’t have anything better to do at the moment. After the last few days, he really needed a break but for the moment, he was stuck running on fumes.
“It’s a simple job, really it is,” Remus said for the seventh time. “My people just lost one of their trigger men so we need you to do the gunman thing.”
Trellan nodded, sipping his drink. He had a feeling intoxication would be a bad idea considering what he was hearing. “Where’s this happening? And how much are you going to pay?”
“I thought you were in it for the cause.” Remus winked.
“If you define a cause as getting money and shooting people, then we have nothing left to talk about.” Trellan started to rise and Remus touched his arm, drawing a scowl.
“Oh, come on, slow down! I was just giving you a hard time. Give me a break here, it doesn’t have to all be heavy talk and seriousness!” Remus sighed. “Come here, lean in close.”
Trellan lifted a brow but complied.
Remus whispered, “we’ve got a gig from Orion’s Light.”
Trellan smirked as an idea sparked in his head, something that might expedite his own plans. “Do you now…”
Remus nodded. “Straight up. To be honest, they’ve been recruiting hard. They seem to be gathering a lot of stuff and they need it delivered. We’ve been contracted to get forty tons of raw metal…stuff that goes into starship hulls.”
“And you intend on stealing it.”
“Yeah, we have a reasonable source saying there’s plenty over at this shipyard. Light guards, no one seems to know it’s even there! This one will be the easiest of the jobs.”
“Forty tons is a lot. You have any idea how long it will take to load that up?”
Remus shrugged. “Won’t matter when everyone’s dead. We’ve got got the transport logs already so we know when new ships will arrive. We’ll have a six hour window to get everything on board…and I’m not just talking about the metal either. We can steal whatever we want! I’m sure there’s something else precious there we can sell to other parties.”
Trellan almost pitied the various pirates he encountered. If Orion’s Light ever came to power and had control over the navy, they would never stop hunting people like Remus. And there wouldn’t be trials and prisons. They’d be executed outright. After using them to get what they wanted, they’d recognize their danger and start killing them.
You’re all marching toward your own end and you don’t even realize it.
“Alright, I’m in.” Trellan made the decision quickly but then, he didn’t necessarily plan to do the job. “But I don’t want to be on this forever. Where exactly are we going?”
“What do you mean?”
“Destination. What’s the planet with the metal and where are we taking it?”
“Oh.” Remus waved his hand. “We have coordinates on the ship. Our destination, after getting the goods, is somewhere pretty far out. Some kind of colony base the Alliance abandoned years ago.”
“I need some specifics.” Trellan didn’t want to be too overt for fear of giving away his plan but Remus seemed like enough of an idiot to spill his guts without suspicion. “There are a lot of abandoned places.”
“When we get to the ship, I’ll show you.” Remus shrugged. “Will that work for you?”
Trellan nodded. “And my cut?”
“Fifteen thousand.”
Trellan made a show of thinking about it but he’d already made up his mind. After several moments, he nodded again and stood. “Let’s go. I want to meet your commander and see what they think of your supposedly easy plan. Chances are it won’t be quite as simple as you put it, huh?”
“I’m sure it will be. Our operations tend to be successful.” Remus grinned. “And at least we won’t be hurting for cash when we’re done, huh? Follow me. I’ll get us where we’re going.”
***
Trellan forced himself to loosen up, trying desperately to wear a casual look. Inside, he ran through tactical variables, worrying about whether or not he’d be jumped when he arrived. It happened before when he first started working for thugs like this. A crew thought he might be an easy mark then found out he didn’t have any money to easily steal.
It gave him his first taste of caution. Prior to his assignment, he’d been a trusting man. He hadn’t become cynical yet and believed the best of people. Less than a week undercover and his illusion of civility vanished. The base nature of the people he encountered showed him just how low sentient life could get.
Remus led him into the port area and they went the opposite direction of Trellan’s stolen vessel. At the far end, well past where even the most desperate vendor set up, they entered one of the docking bays. A relatively nice ship was parked there, looking like they genuinely did their best to keep it in good shape. They’d even recently cleaned the hull.
They must have military background. This might complicate things but only a little.
“Nice ship,” Trellan said. “Looks like it holds what…fifteen, twenty guys?”
“Oh, capacity is thirty but we run a lean crew.” Remus shrugged. “That’s why we need you.”
“Yeah? How many?”
“Nine normally. And I don’t go on the operations. I’m strictly the business guy.”
“Recruitment and money?” Trellan looked the slight man over for a moment. “You always stay here?”
“No, we visit many of the other dens all over the galaxy. I’ve got us operational buildings in each. Took some doing but well worth it. I don’t have to tell you how important it is to be able to get away from a ship for a few hours rest, am I right?”
“You are.” Trellan turned back to the ship as two beefy looking men approached. Each were armed with pistols at their sides, dressed casually with sleeveless shirts. They were covered in grease and looked pretty unhappy. “These guys the welcoming committee?”
“We don’t tend to post guards so use sensors,” Remus said. He waved to the crewmen. “Hey, guys! I found our tenth!”
“You should’ve called ahead, Remus.” The one on the right spoke up first. “You could’ve been shot.”
Remus waved his hand at him. “Settle down. I knew no one was going to bother us here today. And you were supposed to be adjusting the stabilizers. Why’re you out here?”
“Sensors went off.” Left one said. His voice sounded like he gargled with broken glass. “So we had to stop what we were doing and check it out.”
“Where’s everyone else?”
“Planning the job,” Right said. He sized up Trellan. “So who are you?”
“A guy with a gun,” Trellan replied. “You?”
“Caz,” he replied. “This is my brother, Kuln.”
Trellan nodded and introduced himself, first name only. “Can I get on with this? I’ve got things I could be doing if this won’t work out.”
Kuln chuckled but it was a hideous sound. Trellan figured the man must’ve suffered a serious throat injury to sound like that. “I like this guy’s attitude. He’ll fit right in.”
Caz didn’t seem as sure but gestured back toward the ship with his head. “Ramp’s down. Remus will take you up.”
They all started back toward the ship when Trellan spoke up again. “You guys have a problem with the stabilizers?”
“They just needed some maintenance,” Caz said. He held up a filthy hand. “They were dirty too. No idea how they got so bad.”
“We’re usually pretty good about this stuff.” Kuln shrugged. “Our bad, I guess.”
“They outside the ship?” Trellan asked.
“No, we were in engineering. But there’s an escape chute down there that we used to check you guys out.” Caz smirked. “Makes for an easy getaway in port but we’re not sure why it exists practically. I guess you could throw on an environmental suit and jump out but might as well eat a bullet in my opinion.”
“Undoubtedly,” Trellan muttered. The chute might prove troublesome but he’d have to improvise.
They all boarded the ship with Caz and Kuln taking off to the right. Remus led him through the cargo bay, which looked capable of carrying forty tons of metal, and into an antechamber with a desk. Two men were there, staring at a screen intently. Trellan had a hard time picking their age, they were both covered in grease.
The one behind the desk was wiry and tough looking, his face lean and hair wispy about his head. His companion boasted larger muscles and no hair and as he looked up at them, his orange eyes burned with suspicion. The other man looked up, blue eyes appearing far friendlier. He even smiled.
“Remus,” tiny spoke first. “This our final man?”
“He is,” Remus replied. “Trellan’s his name. Gunmen. Done a lot of crazy work. I even knew the name.”
Trellan wondered if he was making that up. They didn’t talk about any of his exploits either. So perhaps he had made enough of a name for himself that someone like Remus would’ve heard of him but he didn’t think so. He’d checked authority boards and asked Siva but she didn’t get back to him with that particular piece of information.
Maybe she thought it would go to his head or that he’d get arrogant about it. Honestly, he just wanted to know how cautious he should’ve been and whether or not people might recognize him if he went to civilian ports. Either way, if Remus was lying or there was some truth to what he said, it served him at that exact moment.
“Good!” Tiny straighted up. “I’d shake your hand but I don’t want to get grease all over you. My name’s Gar and I run this ship.” He gestured to the lug. “This is Pree, my second.”
Pree didn’t say anything but continued to look suspicious. He nodded by way of greeting.
“I understand there are nine total men,” Trellan said. “That we’re going to take a port in between shipments, correct?”
“That’s the plan,” Gar said. “Then load the stuff up and take them out to some derelict base. I just got the coordinates to it earlier today.”
Trellan nodded. “And you expect some trouble there.”
Pree spoke up. “Yes, you won’t be getting free money, gunman.” He used the professional title like an insult.
“Got it. What kind of opposition?” Trellan bought himself some time, observing the area and glancing out into the cargo bay. It was totally empty at the moment, leaving plenty of room for what they wanted to steal. “And do we have the supplies to stick around there if we have to?”
“We’re doing alright,” Gar replied. “But we expect a pretty standard security detail. Ten men at the most and not all at the port at the same time. They’ll be in the building while we land where all the stuff is kept. I got a false ID code to get us through their automated orbital scans. Normal operating procedure for us. You in?”
“When would we leave?”
“As soon as those idiots finish the maintenance on our stabilizers,” Gar said. “We’ll have to track down our pilot but he can’t be too far. Probably at the watering hole around the corner. Some lady bartender caught his fancy.”
Trellan nodded. “But you said there were nine of you. Does that count Remus?”
Gar chuckled. “No, Remus stays behind. He whines too much when he has to go on missions. The others are out and about. Gunmen like you or general starship crew. The kind of guys the military gave the shaft to earlier in their careers. You know how it goes. They’re stand up men…well…for criminals.”
“And just to be clear, we’re planning on killing the security detail on the planet?”
Pree glared. “You ask a lot of questions.”
Trellan met his eyes without hesitation. “I don’t risk my life without knowing what the job’s about. What if I assumed you wanted them all dead and walked off your ship shooting? I could kill four guys before one of you could mention we were going to take them prisoner. After all, slaughtering authorities tends to make their friends all the mor
e motivated to track you down.”
Gar put his hand on Pree’s arm. “Relax. He’s got a good point. He’s never worked with us and he has no idea how we do things. Listen, Trellan…we don’t like violence unnecessarily. But these guys at the port…they’re not going to let us just load this stuff up and steal it. The war effort’s got all this stuff pegged for…well…other things.”
Trellan nodded. “Please speak plainly.”
“We’re going to have to drop a few bodies, okay?” Gar shook his head. “I’m not happy about it but that’s the truth.”
“Understood.” Trellan glanced down at the map. “How bad are the stabilizers?”
Gar hesitated to answer. “Just an annoyance really. We had time so we finally got them fixed up.”
“Good.” Trellan drew his gun in a flash and shot Gar, catching him in the forehead. The man’s eyes widened as he flopped to the ground, dead in an instant. Remus cried out in shock but Trellan silenced him with another round, placed right between the eyes.
Pree lunged at him, grabbing his arm and directing the pistol away. Trellan drew him in and drove his knee into the man’s solid gut. It didn’t do much more than draw a grunt from his target so he had to be more creative. He only had a few moments before the others would come to see what happened.
Rotating his wrist, Trellan found the weak spot in Pree’s grip and yanked his left hand free. Tensing his fist to brace his thumb, he drove it into Pree’s eye, making the man immediately fall back with a strangled cry. Unfortunately, he managed to take Trellan’s gun with him but it fell to the floor and danced a few feet away.
Trellan kicked the man in the groin and blocked a feeble punch thrown in retaliation. As Pree dropped to his knees, Trellan grabbed his chin and wrenched his neck back and to the side. The swiftness of the move made something snap and the lifeless, limp body of Pree dropped to the ground with a loud thump.
