Terminus Project: Mars (Dystopian Child Prodigy SciFi)

by Casey Herzog

  Other Books By Casey Herzog

  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

  Magic Eyes

  Bonus Book 1

  Magic Alive

  Bonus Book 2

  Terminus Project: Mars

  Book 1

  Casey Herzog

  ***

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  Copyright © 2017 by Casey Herzog

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded or distributed via the Internet or any other means, electronic or print, without the author’s permission.

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously, and are not to be constructed as real. Any resemblance to persons living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.

  Published in the United States of America

  Other Books By Casey Herzog

  The Unmaker Series

  Tower of Ayia (Prequel) - FREE

  The Lucid Dreamer (Book 1)

  Johnny Spaceway Series

  Johnny Spaceway and the Hooded Assassin (Book 1)

  Want a Free Book? Casey Herzog is giving away a free copy of Tower of Ayia, the prequel to The Lucid Dreamer (no strings attached). This book is exclusive to his VIP Reading Team.

  >>>Click Here<<<

  CHAPTER 1

  There was only one thing in Jude's head at that moment. It was the kind of random thought that had no place in the present situation, yet it persisted in his head and drowned out all other considerations. Even as he heard the thuds of footsteps on the outer hull, even as his crew rushed to put on their space suits, he could not shake the strong impression in his mind.

  He shouldn't be here!

  His mind called forth images of exactly where he ought to be. There were images of a school with safe, blue uniforms. The tables wouldn't be bolted to the floor and the teachers wouldn't float about your head as you worked. There would be far more literature to read and far less instruction on sword form. Susan Martin would be there. She'd have grown, but not as much as he had. Her hair would still be that luscious strawberry color, and her eyes would still be the color of warm, melted chocolate. As he looked to Ana, floating over to her suit, he realized Susan's most attractive quality would be her long flowing hair. He remembered it tumbling down to her waist. In preschool, he had liked to brush it for her. No one had long hair out here. Here, hair was not permitted to grow beyond the ear lobes.

  The sound of footfalls above intensified and snapped Jude back to the present moment. The haze of memory fell away from him, and he noticed, for the first time, the fierce look Ana was giving him as she slipped into her suit and secured the helmet piece. Ana was a far more natural fit for command of their squad. He might have had the better test scores on Earth, but she had the mentality needed for command. Certainly, she coped better under pressure. As soon as she was secure in her suit, her fingers moved to the wrist mounted keypad and her helmet became suffused with a blue glow as she brought up a data feed. It was hard to read backwards, but Jude knew what she was looking for. He probably should be doing the same, but he could not bring his muscles to kick in and complete these routine tasks.

  There was short wait, and then Jude heard the small beep that alerted him to a call. Bringing up his own computer feed he noted that Ana was calling him on a private connection. Could he ignore it? Jude would have liked nothing more in that moment than to quietly untangle himself from his suit, float back to the hab-block, and curl up in his bunk. He bit his bottom lip as he tried to ignore that voice. Fear of Ana finally caused him to accept her call.

  “There has been no communication from the knights for over an hour now. I can't raise any of the chiefs of staff...That puts you in charge.” Ana's voice was flat, and Jude could tell she was as unhappy with this turn of events as he was. “Protocol states that if the chiefs of staff can't be hailed for upward of one hour command automatically defaults to-”

  “-Yes, I know that.” Jude let out a long-held breath as he tried to steady his nerves. “What exactly do you want me to do though? If the knights have failed or have been eliminated, then there is little we can do. You can hear the footsteps on the hull. They'll be at the air lock soon.”

  “Then order us to must at the airlock. Spears and archers. It's a narrow corridor, and the enemy will only be able to come in two abreast.” Jude could hear Ana's own breathing, so much steadier than his own. Looking into her eyes, he felt as though she had made peace with the prospect of death and only hoped to go out gloriously. He was not in such a hurry.

  “Shouldn’t we just surrender? No one expects us to operate and complete our mission without the commanders here. The younger ones still have three years of training left to complete, and they won’t be ready for Pluto without the commanders here to train them. Face it Ana, the mission is over.” It was hard to tell with her helmet in the way, but Jude thought he saw the glint of a tear in the corner of her eye.

  “You never cared about this mission, or its meaning. Humanity is looking to us. Our mission is going to be taught in history books for generations to come. Can you really accept being remembered as the man who surrendered his ship to the secessionists and doomed mankind to further fracture?”

  “Considering we'll probably never return to Earth to face those judgments, I can't say I really care what history makes of me. I just don't want to be the one to order ninety kids to death just so I can have my name put on honor roll of the dead.”

  Ana pursed her lips, and Jude could hear her taking several deep breaths. His apathy and lack of interest in continuing the fight was hitting her hard. “Sir, out of respect for your seniority and the chain of command, I would like to give you one more chance to do the right thing. If you are not prepared to listen to reason and lead the expulsion of the secessionists from the ship, I will inform the others you are unfit for command, and I will take over the mission.”

  Even through the layers of plex separating them, Jude could see just how serious Ana was. If it would see them moving to a suicidal last stand, she would likely go as far as killing him just to knock her the one rung up the chain of command necessary to call the shots. “I'm going to leave it to the crew to decide then,” Jude said at last.

  “What?” Ana blustered. Jude noted the way her fists clenched.

  “Everyone has the right to choose if they want to throw their lives away on this mission. I'll make it simple for them. Any who wishes to can help us secure the airlock. Otherwise, they can make their way to the hab-blocks and accept a surrender.”

  “You are going to see two thirds of our troops sitting out of the fight if you do that.”

  “And what good are they going to do fighting for
us if they are not invested in it? If you want to call the shots, then fine, kill me and play warlord.”

  Ana sighed, and her body relaxed. “I am not going to kill you Jude. Do you really think I’m that bloodthirsty?”

  “Right now, yes I do.” Jude wasn't going to sugar coat things for her. “I'll send out the order now. Go down to the armory and get ready to supply those who plan to fight.”

  ***

  As Ana had predicted, over ninety of the crew opted to hide away in the hab-block rather than attempt to ward off the boarding knights. When Jude arrived at the docking port, he found the defense was predominantly composed of students from his class year and the one below. Most seemed resolute as they gripped their spears and bows. Swords were out of the question in the tight confines of the air lock corridor. Despite Ana's bravado on the merits of defending the narrow space, Jude could see just how weak their defense really was. They were in flimsy emergency suits as opposed to proper knight plate. Any weapons the invading force used against them would likely tear through them with ease.

  “The enemy has assembled by the airlock. If they follow standard procedure, they will begin burning through the hatch shortly.”

  “I've already had the breach doors sealed, so the rest of the ship won’t face decompression. Really, if they follow proper procedure, they will send a communication first, give us the option to let their ship dock with ours, and organize a proper surrender.” Jude narrowed his eyes, suspicious Ana might have purposefully chosen to ignore that little fact.

  Handing him a spear, Ana turned her attention to the door. “You're in charge, sir. All communications have been routed to your headset. If they send any demands for our surrender, you'll know about it.” Her eyes turned to study him as they took up their positions, magnetizing her boots to the floor to make standing her ground easier.

  Jude was concentrating on the door, watching as the edges of the door began to crackle with red sparks.

  “For what it's worth, sir, I am grateful you've agreed to stand with us here. I know you have never seen this as your fight.”

  “The perks of unsought promotion; I have to set an example. Can’t lead while hiding away in the crew quarters.”

  Further conversation was interrupted as the air in the corridor suddenly rushed past them, escaping through the widening hole in the airlock. Jude could just about see the whirling teeth of several saw blades biting away at the metal. It was a long process, one that set his nerves further on edge. He wished the enemy could somehow hurry up the operation; the nervous waiting made him feel he wasn’t equal to the task with every passing second.

  The defenders of the Retribution had to wait nearly fifteen minutes, but it did not take long for the air to completely leave the corridor, and the sound of saws to vanish along with it. There was little chatter on the communications, only the occasional requests for information from those who had opted to wait out the engagement elsewhere.

  “They're almost through.” Ana's statement was made entirely to fill the silence, but it was welcome.

  “About time too,” Jude laughed. I'm beginning to get a cramp in my legs from standing in this position for so long.

  Ana shot a rare smile, one he almost took for affectionate. “Don't worry commander. If we survive this encounter and drive back these bastards I'll owe you a foot-rub.”

  “Considering our odds, I won’t cling too hard to that promise.”

  Ana's smile widened, taking on a wicked gleam. “I wouldn't have offered it if I thought there was any chance of my having to go through with it.”

  Jude sighed and gripped his spear a little tighter as they waited for the door to finally give. “Hey, Ana... Are you really intent on dying here?”

  “I'm not exactly thrilled by the prospect, but it's better than the alternative.”

  That was all the answer Jude would get. At that moment, the air lock door finally gave and began to float inward away from the hull. Jude’s eyes locked with the blackness of space, noting with confusion the lack of stars. It dawned on him that the hull of the ship they were facing obscured the view. He took deep breaths, waiting for the invading knights to take their chances coming through the gaping hole in the ship.

  None came.

  For a few minutes, the small band of defenders looked out into blackness, occasionally exchanging puzzled glances with each other. Just where were their opponents? As they tried to scour the darkness for any hint of their foe, the enemy made its play. A bright light, far more intense than the inoffensive white bulbs that lit the corridor, flooded their vision and made all of the defenders squint. Some, including Jude, were forced to fully turn their heads to avoid being blinded by the intense beams shot at them.

  Confusion reigned as the defenders began simultaneously swearing and begging for information on what was happening outside. Jude tried to peer through the intense light, but only succeeded in seeing faint shadows that moved through the glare. He could only look directly toward the light for a scant few seconds before having to cast his gaze to the floor. It was a lucky move; however, as his eyes caught something small and black bobbing through the airlock at his feet. His eyes widened as his blurred vision managed to discern just what it was. “Grenade!”

  As if his warning were a trigger, the tiny device exploded, sending a scattering of rubber pellets right into the thick of their condensed ranks. Looking around him, Jude could see at least five of his team writhing in pain. Anyone who had been hit dropped their shields and spears at once, turning their attention wholly to closing the rips in their suits. One particularly unlucky boy, Terence, had a series of rips across his suit, and no amount of struggling or writhing would save him now. Jude could only watch, his eyes burning the horrific sight into a permanent memory he knew would stay with him for years to come. There was nothing he could do for the boy. The kindest thing he could offer would be to finish him cleanly with a spear to the heart, but it was not a thing Jude could do. His body simply refused to kill someone on his own team, someone he knew.

  Even Ana, arguably the most committed to the fight, could not bring herself to end Terrence's struggle. Instead, the two just gripped their spears and tried not to let themselves feel the boy's pain as he gasped for air that would never come.

  They were defeated. In one smooth action, the enemy had crippled their ranks and ability to fight. Looking behind him at his platoon, all but Ana had dropped their spears. Those who had only single punctures to their suits were floating to the back lines, gratefully receiving the air of their comrades who helped to section off the rips with lengths of cord, creating crude tourniquets to stem the oxygen loss. At least four were dead. Terrence had stopped twitching and now only remained standing because of the magnetic lock on his boots. His upper body swayed in the vacuum, reminding Jude of seaweed buffeted by a choppy tide.

  Gradually, silhouettes began to appear against the stream of light. The figures of three knights were growing ominously large as they careened towards the open hatch. In shadowy profile, their battle armor was terrible to behold, and Jude knew they did not have a hope of even bringing down one of these behemoths. Looking to Ana, Jude let go of his spear. He turned to her and grabbed for her spear. “It’s over Ana. We stood our ground and look what's already happened. There's no way we can take on knights. We need to stand down.”

  Ana held her spear firm, eyes flitting between the rapidly approaching shadows and her commander. Her vision seemed blind to all else. “No, I'm not going to go down without a fight.”

  Jude knew she was serious and turned his full attention to trying to disarm his second in command. Ana was strong, and he knew he would not be able to wrest the weapon completely from her, but he could at least keep her from using it-.

  He only needed to struggle for a moment. After a few seconds of wrangling, a figure in metal plates slammed into her, their fist slamming into Ana's stomach. It was a powerful blow, and caused her to immediately drop the weapon and double over. Jude was not prepa
red to suddenly gain full possession of the weapon, and as she let go, he found himself slicing the spear tip through the air, leaving a long thin scratch across the breastplate of the armored knight in front of him.

  Death filled his mind as he waited for the knight to give him a killing blow. He let go of the spear and closed his eyes. Of all the odd things to pray for in that moment, he found himself praying that the knight didn't break his visor. His wish, it seemed, was granted.

  When death did not immediately present itself, Jude opened his eyes to find the knight still staring at him. He could not see a face, or eyes behind the thin visor. The hulking creature had drawn no weapon and was now tapping the side of its helmet with its gauntlet. They wanted to communicate.

  Jude fumbled with his wrist computer, but couldn't pick up any attempted transmissions from these invaders, and neither did he seem able to find a frequency to reach them on. He put his hands in front of him and began to sign, the last resort for any astronauts who lost their other channels of communication. It was hard to remember the correct signs, but he hoped he had made “Surrender” and “Help Us” clear.

  CHAPTER 2

  One thing a broad and rigorous military education had not taught was how to handle defeat, or even under what terms surrender was a good and sensible option. What surprised Jude most about the situation was how comfortable it made him feel. It was nice to have the burden of command taken from him, to be told that his mission was at an end, his services no longer required. For the first time in three years, he had no purpose or point to his existence, and it suited him just fine. The chiefs of staff had always implied that invasion would be the end of them because invaders would get rid of the crew without hesitation. There was some sense in it. Survival in space was hard, and keeping prisoners was a waste of resources: food, air, management. If their invaders just threw them off the ship, the newcomers could live like kings. That's what the chiefs would have said.