Blackwing: Rise of a New Empire (The Blackwing Trilogy Book 1)

by L. S. Mercer

  “Hello?” Asked Damon, positive that Drago could sense the cocky grin that he was pulling.

  “You swine!” Screeched Drago over the communicator. “I’m doubling your price! NO! TRIPLING!”

  And with that the radio went completely dead.

  Damon looked down at the dead Kharan, tossing the communicator behind him as he knelt down to see what kind of goodies the poor guy had.

  “Boss?” Asked a voice, followed by the low hum of his cheap, communicator.

  He realized he’d forgotten about his shipmates.

  “Copper?” He asked.

  “Yeah!” Chirped Copper. “So, what’s going on?”

  “Everything’s good now, I’m on my way” He said. “keep the ship going though, this place is dry.”

  “Aw.” Moaned Copper, who seemed to really like the Tech Sea10.

  “We’ll come back when things aren’t so hot buddy.” Damon reassured him.

  Tossing his pistol back into it’s holster, Damon made for the bay door.

  “Cleanup on isle three!” He shouted to the security guard, who’d been watching the entire thing take place.

  The guard just looked at him blankly, probably not sure how to react to the human since Cyborgs tend to have a dull sense of humor for some reason.

  Damon quickly made it to his hanger bay, it was rare for him to be in such a hurry to leave potential business behind. As the door slid open, Damon’s heart skipped a beat as he saw someone standing next to the door, patiently awaiting his arrival.

  “Damon!” Shouted the unfortunately familiar voice as the door fully came to a stop.

  “Striker!” Replied Damon in an equally as annoying, sarcastic greeting.

  “Thought about the offer?” He asked.

  “Nope.” He grumbled, pushing passed the commander.

  “The Galactic Alliance11 needs pilots like you!” Shouted Striker in protest. “Plus it’s not like you’re doing any better!”

  Damon stopped, turned back to the commander, and stepped right in front of the man’s face.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” He asked.

  The commander remained as hard as Cardis crystals12.

  “Look at yourself Damon.” He said, looking down at the smuggler’s sweat covered jacket.

  Damon didn’t respond, simply turning back toward his Duster, hoping that the commander would take it as a no.

  “The princess literally said, don’t come back without him.” Grumbled Striker.

  That caught Damon’s attention. He stopped in place again.

  “Since when would the princess want the help of a smuggler?” He asked himself.

  “What’s in it for me?” He asked.

  Striker’s entire face brightened up.

  “Money, lots of money.” He said.

  “I do like lots of money.” Replied Damon, turning himself fully to look upon Striker once again.

  Striker reached out to shake his hand, gesturing for Damon to comply.

  “Pardons?” Asked Damon, still negotiating.

  “Do you need to be pardoned of something?” Asked Striker, a frown crossing his lips.

  Damon quickly reached out and grabbed the slowly falling handshake. Shaking his hand furiously.

  “Deal!” Shouted Damon. “Catch ya at the station buddy!”

  Damon took off before the commander could say anymore, sprinting to get to the duster’s entrance. As he stepped onto the walkway, he looked back to see that the commander had already disappeared from sight, as was his usual act.

  * * *

  Damon walked down the corridor leading to the space chart, analyzing a rusted, broken wrecker that the Eyres must have picked up during their short stay in the Tech Sea.

  “It’s mine!” Shouted Alloy.

  “No, I found it!” Screamed Copper, yanking a broken pulse rifle out of Alloy’s hands.

  Damon looked around the corner into the communication room where the two were bickering.

  “Guys!” He shouted, letting loose a chuckle as he watched his friends freeze in place at the sound of his voice.

  “Mine!” Whispered Alloy, still staring at Damon while he tried to pull on the rifle.

  “Alloy.” Said Damon, putting on his stern face. “Who found it first?”

  Alloy lowered his head in shame and pointed his tiny finger over at Copper, who was now sporting a very proud smile.

  “There we go.” He said.

  “But, I never get the boomy stuff!” Complained Alloy, stomping his feet against the metal floor.

  “I promise to buy you something boomy in the next port.” Said Damon.

  “Yay!” Shouted Alloy, jumping up onto the communicator.

  The communicator buzzed to life, beeping to announce an incoming call. The rapid powering caused Alloy to jump off immediately and run behind Damon.

  “Who could this be?” Asked Damon aloud, looking between the two Eyres as if they’d have a clue. The two responded with shrugs.

  “Well go on.” He laughed. “Activate it.”

  The communicator screen popped out, revealing Princess Aela of the Galactic Alliance. Damon instantly knew her by the beautiful silver hair that flowed just passed her shoulders, something he’d always liked about her.

  “Princess?” Asked Damon in surprise.

  Aela raised an eyebrow at him, awaiting his formal greeting.

  “I mean.” He fakely exclaimed, pretending to be embarrassed. “I’m honored by your oh so holy presence.”

  “Always a charmer.” Replied Aela. “Listen, Striker informed me that you were on your way to Outpost Alpha.”

  Alloy and Copper both shared a look of confusion, he hadn’t informed them yet about the change of plans.

  “Well, I mean, yeah.” He stammered.

  “Well captain?” She asked. “Are you?”

  “Yes ma’am.”

  “Good, because we are under attack.” She said all too calmly.

  “What?”

  “The Kharan have waged war against the Alliance, we-”

  The screen went black and the communicator ended transmission.

  “Damn it!” He yelled, kicking the side of the communicator.

  “Damn it!” Squeaked Alloy and Copper in unison, waddling over to kick the communicator as well.

  Damon sat in silence for a second before running to the cockpit.

  “Plot a course to the outskirts of Alpha!” He shouted back at Alloy.

  Almost immediately, the ship roared to life and shot through space at full speed, headed directly for the outpost.

  “Hey.” Said Copper, standing in the doorway to the cockpit.

  “What’s up?” Asked Damon.

  He spun around in his chair to look down at Copper, who was now waddling toward him.

  “Alliance?” Asked Copper, raising his eyebrow.

  “Look, I know that you want to scavenge, and that was part of the deal.” Started Damon. “But the Alliance needs me, they need us.”

  Copper stared at him for a moment, finally nodding his head in agreement.

  “Time for booms?” He asked.

  “Time for booms indeed.” Replied Damon, spinning back around in his chair.

  The ship began to slow down as the Kharan fleet came into view, it would only be a few more seconds before they’d notice the ship flying towards them.

  “Alloy!” Shouted Damon.

  Alloy came running into the cockpit.

  “Take the controls pal.” He said. “Boom time!”

  “Boom time!” Squealed Alloy, excited to get to fly the ship.

  By the time Damon had reached the turret, they’d entered the Kharan’s firing range. An explosion rocked the ship, knocking Damon out of the seat before he could buckle himself in. The cockpit was dusty from lack of use, filled with the crumbs of previous snacks from one of the Eyres. Damon made a disgusted face as he brushed off the control panel.

  As the cockpit rose out of the side of the ship, he came face to f
ace with a Kharan Conqueror13 heading straight for them. Immediately, he pulled the triggers as hard as possible, letting loose a barrage of powerful laser bolts. The lasers soared through space, clipping the corner of the fighter and not slowing it down even in the slightest bit.

  From the look of its flight pattern, the ship had only one goal, which was to slam right into them. Damon took a moment to consider why they’d be so desperate as to pull a suicide mission but then he realized it was the Kharan, who strongly believed that if they were to die in battle, they’d receive the greatest praise from their gods.

  Just as the ship was speeding up to ram them, a pulse missile fired from Copper’s turret, completely obliterating the fighter’s wing. The fighter spiraled out of control, slamming into the Kharan’s prized first rate battlecruiser known as the Khal’Vagal14.

  “BOOM!” Shouted Copper over the communicator, laughing hysterically.

  6 Ostillion- Agriculturally based planet. Neutral in the war.

  7 Kharan- Large, muscular, bull-like men. A naturally fast and extremely aggressive species, native to the three planets of the Kharan Dynasty.

  8 Eyre- Natural habitat unknown. Frequently spotted in the Tech Sea. Small bodies, averaging no more than 3 feet tall with small pointy, goblin-like ears.

  9 Duster- Medium sized cargo ship. Primary function: Smuggling. Outfitted with Class-6 Battle lasers.

  10 Tech Sea- Though the planet contains no water whatsoever, it was named the Tech Sea by the cyborgs filling the entire planet with various types of technology, effectively creating a sea of technology.

  11 Galactic Alliance- Created by leaders of many of the galaxy’s inhabitants with the goal of galactic peace.

  12 Cardis Crystal- The strongest material in the galaxy. Mainly used for pulse weaponry.

  13 Kharan Conqueror- Fighter ship used specifically by the Kharan. Known for its maneuverability and stealth fields.

  14 Khal’Vagal- The most powerful battlecruiser ever to fly under the flag of the Kharan. Captained by Val’Drago, leader of the Kharan Dynasty.

  Chapter 3

  A short test shock ran through the cables that were wrapped around Adrian’s arms, causing his entire body to jolt. He looked down, seeing the many connectors attached to his chest and he could feel them on his head as well.

  “This is it.” He thought to himself, shaking his head in shame.

  “Mighty fine pilot you are.” Whispered the Pulsecutioner as he connected the final cable to the back of Adrian’s neck.

  “Thanks.” He muttered, not really in the mood for idle chit chat.

  The man nodded slowly, staring at Adrian with a look of regret that you wouldn’t normally see in someone who does this job on a daily basis. Something about him was odd, he wasn’t voorian, yet he didn’t seem like much of a human either, his eyes glowed with a strong tint of red.

  “You’ll be fine.” Said the man. He scratched his nose and turned to leave the room, signaling to the voorians that it was time.

  “You’ll be fine.” Mocked Adrian under his breath.

  A screen suddenly began lowering itself in front of Adrian, he remained silent, waiting for the screen to turn on and show Gorgoth’s lovely trunks. It flickered for a second before clearing up, it was definitely Gorgoth, smiling a larger smile than ever before.

  “Hello Adrian Blackwing.” He said, giggling to himself.

  Adrian remained silent.

  “I just wanted to thank you for your service.” He snickered. “You really paved the path of diplomacy.”

  The oversized Voorian erupted in a fit of annoying laughter, thinking himself to be the most comical being in the entire galaxy. Once he was calm again, he moved the screen closer to Adrian’s face, as one would do during a shared whisper.

  “You followed your orders, and I respect that.” He said in a low rumble. “No hard feelings?”

  “Nope.” He seethed, his teeth feeling like they were going to shatter each other while he clenched them.

  “Good.” Rasped Gorgoth.

  The screen went black and began ascending back into its dock. The abrupt ending could only mean that they were charging the pulse generator, ready to fire it up at any moment. Adrian looked up, staring right into the red eyes of the Pulsecutioner as the man pulled the lever.

  Energy pulsed through his body, slowly at first, causing Adrian’s body to jolt every other second. Soon they began increasing the power, and with each buzz from the knob, the pulsing got stronger and the pain more intense. As the machine entered its final state, the pain became way too much for Adrian to control himself. His screams echoed through the entire execution chamber, causing everyone but the Pulsecutioner to cover their ears. The man just stared menacingly into Adrian’s eyes while the energy shot through his body. For some reason, no matter how much pain that he was in, Adrian couldn’t take his eyes off of the man.

  The power to the machine began to increase once again, even though the chamber was maxed. The lab techs scrambled around the computers to see what the issue was, but none of them could figure out what to do. Adrian had stopped screaming at this point, his body was slumped over, only being held in place by the many cables attached to him.

  The man continued to stare, ignoring the panic all around him, just staring.

  “Wake up Adrian!” Roared a raspy, deep voice in his head.

  “I can’t.” He thought.

  “Then you will die.” It hissed at him.

  Adrian’s eyes cracked open as he weakly rose his head towards the chamber. He once again made contact with the man, who was still unwavering in his evil, piercing stare. Adrian let out a loud, raspy breath and squeezed his arms in an attempt to break the cables. He realized he could no longer feel the jolts, but the power was still coursing.

  “Good.” Said the voice, drawing out the word.

  Adrian watched as the Pulsecutioner vanished into thin air, staring in horror as it happened. He had no idea what was going on, all he knew was that there was now a chance to escape death, and he was going to take it.

  A surge of rage came over him as he yanked on the cables, something must have rung in his mind as comical because he began to laugh. His laugh was not the normal, smooth chuckle that he’d normally did when telling girls jokes at a bar, it was more of a sinister, dark lord that just successfully committed genocide type of laughter. He couldn’t control it either, it was a completely unwilling reaction to whatever was happening to him.

  The scientists stopped scrambling when they heard the coarse laughter coming from the chamber. They stared at Blackwing, horrified by his resurrection. He continued to laugh as the cables began to emit visible energy throughout the room, arcing in all directions.

  A crippling weakness hit Adrian before he had the chance to completely break free, his skin felt like it was completely engulfed in flames. Looking down, he realized that his skin was actually starting to bubble up, some parts even looking as if they were turning completely into a liquid.

  The energy continued to pulse stronger and stronger as time went on, even the scientists were starting to feel the tingle of it. Adrian wasn’t sure of what to do, he flexed his arms and pulled as hard as he could, which did nothing at all, the cables were too strong. In frustration, he fell to his knees, now having the slack to actually fall down.

  The door to the execution room opened up, revealing a couple of voorians, armed to the teeth with weaponry to finish the job.

  “Come on then!” He roared, the room seeming to shake slightly from the odd power of his voice. He even surprised himself.

  The voorians exchanged uneasy glances with each other before stepping into the room. Voorians were naturally resistant to pulse energy, however with the amount flowing through the room, even they seemed to be uncomfortable. As they approached Adrian, he became increasingly nervous about his invitation, realizing that he had no way to defend himself. One of them raised their spears, ready to impale him at a moments notice.

  “Release the
power.” Said that voice into his head again.

  “What?” He asked in thought.

  “Just focus.” It replied.

  Adrian did as was instructed by the mysterious voice, closing his eyes, which burned as if even his sockets were aflame. He pushed with his mind in a desperate attempt to relieve his pain. The energy came forth like a wrecking ball, his entire body feeling as if it were imploding as a visual wave rocketed all around him, the pain from the blast was worse than anything before it, causing him to scream a deep, rough, echoing yelp of agony. The lights immediately shattered, the room turning as black as the voorian night sky. He felt each death as the wave smashed through all of the room’s inhabitants, seeming to fuel his own life force as they crispened under the electrifying force of pure, pulsing energy.

  With nothing left coursing through his body, Adrian fell flat onto the ground, the cables going equally as limp. His breathing became a mess of rasp as he forced each shrill burst that his lungs could manage. His vision slowly became a blur as he stared forward, helpless and weak.

  * * *

  Sebastian was overcome with a sense of panic when all of the power to the sector went out. A loud explosion had erupted from the execution chamber just seconds before. As his cell door clicked open, he stared in disbelief.

  “How could the voore allow this?” He asked himself.

  He walked over to the bars to look out. Dozens of inmates were passing by the cell, all making their way to the exit. His door swung open, a rough looking tracer stood in the doorway, staring at the doctor.

  “Come on!” He said, the sound of excitement could faintly be detected in his more than usual robotic voice. “We’re free doc!”

  Sebastian followed the cyborg out of the room, shocked by the lack of guards. Following the crowd, he entered the elevator that lead out of the cell block, pushing the button for the top floor, the execution level. He was surprised to learn that the elevator was operating on its own power source, which made sense in case there was an emergency, but it made things way too convenient for the prisoners to escape.