War Against the White Knights

War Against the White Knights Page 33

by Tim C. Taylor

  The Hardit rebellion is narrowly defeated. McEwan takes part in a military operation on the moon, Antilles, where he is badly wounded, but still manages to save the life of his cadet friend, Tremayne (nicknamed Springer). Tremayne, however, loses a leg and suffers disfiguring burns. The pre-cog Night Hummers also have their agenda. They manipulate McEwan into swearing a solemn oath to protect their species and win their freedom from the White Knights, no matter what the cost.

  The Tranquility system prepares for war. Marines frozen for decades are thawed, ready to deploy. McEwan and his fellow cadets are hastily reclassified as full Marines and shipped off to the Muryani frontier.

  In the last hours before embarking for the troop ships, Beowulf and Themistocles, McEwan and Xin Lee make love in the Antilles base, afterwards revealing to each other that they are both part of the conspiracy to win freedom from the White Knights.

  Only six months into the journey, they chance across a vessel that they disable and board. The vessel’s position, its crew of vintage Marine-like humans, and the manner in which it soon explodes are all unexplained mysteries.

  The rebel faction in the Civil War seizes both ships and turns them around to return to Tranquility, where they will join the fight to seize the system.

  McEwan and Tremayne are rescued by an alliance between a spacer, Indiya, and her fellow ‘freaks’ — experimental enhanced humans — and the Reserve Captain, an ancient Jotun Navy officer and scientist who has played a role for many years in the development of experimental human forms, an unwitting member of one of the deep conspiracies.

  Aided by Xin Lee, McEwan’s faction retakes Beowulf but the plan goes badly wrong. Themistocles is destroyed. Nearly all the Marines and crew on Beowulf perish.

  The survivors are divided and despondent. It is the one surviving Jotun officer, the Reserve Captain, who uses her authority to rally the human stragglers and appoint a leader: Major Arun McEwan.

  Desperate for a purpose, the humans cheer McEwan when he announces they will return to Tranquility and retake their home, not as slaves of the White Knights, but as members of the Human Legion.

  Leading an expeditionary force of just 59 Marines, McEwan attempts to reclaim his homeworld from Hardit control. The campaign is hard fought, but ultimately futile. The lazy and ill-disciplined Hardits McEwan knew in his days as a cadet have hardened into the brutal New Order, led by Tawfiq Woomer-Calix, who has emerged as a ruthless tyrant.

  In the Fall of Detroit, the leader of the Legion defense, Lieutenant Edward Brandt, discovers a secret store of cryogenically frozen soldiers hidden deep underneath the city. Millions of them.

  But there is no time to revive them. The expeditionary force flees the planet leaving behind the still sleeping Marines and the corpses of half their force, including Lieutenant Brandt.

  Regrouping on the Moon, Antilles, the Legion uncovers McEwan’s friends: Hortez and Pedro, who in turn reveal 600 humans frozen not long after the creation of the Human Marine Corps.

  But as the Beowulf, the Legion’s only starship, leaves the Tranquility system for a destination suggested by the Hummers, McEwan is beginning to discover the Night Hummer conspiracy wherever he looks, even in the presence and existence of the one person he loves: Springer. When Springer says she can foretell McEwan’s future, but that she can’t see herself in that future, she rejects McEwan completely.

  Disconsolate, McEwan seeks what solace he can from other friends and lovers, not yet realizing that they too have their secret agendas.

  The frozen humans rescued from the Tranquility system – a pack of human berserkers calling themselves Wolves – overpower their rescuers and seize control of Beowulf. It takes the combination of Indiya, Xin, Arun, and Nhlappo, and the primitive nature of the Wolves’ own bodies, for the Human Legion to re-establish control, and turn the ship back to the destination suggested to them by the night Hummers.

  Beowulf arrives at the homeworld of the Littoranes, an amphibious species who were once punished by the White Knights for their lack of loyalty. The instrument of Imperial punishment were the same Wolves now on board Beowulf. But the Night Hummers have long prepared the Littoranes for the arrival of the Legion, and the Littorane high priest recognizes Captain Indiya and her purple hair from religious prophecies seeded by the Hummers. The Legion came to the Littorane world looking for supplies and a base of operations, but leaves with an armed fleet, major shipbuilding facilities, and a world that had declared holy war on the White Knight blasphemers.

  At Khallini, the Legion uncovers a plan by the Old Empire forces (those loyal to the Emperor) to infect the victorious 3rd Fleet of their New Empire enemies. The disease vector is a hitherto unknown species, nicknamed the mudsuckers, who possess a knack for disrupting equipment, and forge a connection to Springer. The Imperial forces are routed by the Legion, the mudsuckers recruited, and the secrets of a weapons research base revealed.

  Following this first battlefield victory, the Legion sends missions to nearby worlds to recruit new allies, and sends a flotilla under Colonel Nhlappo to retrieve the Sleeping Legion – millions of frozen human Marines buried on Tranquility-4. Meanwhile, the bulk of the Legion fleet prepares for the arrival of the 3rd Fleet.

  Nhlappo’s operations on Tranquility begin well, and millions of sleeping soldiers are transferred to waiting ships in orbit. A sneak attack by the Hardit New Order, led by Tawfiq Woomer-Calix, threatens to overwhelm the humans. The attack in space is beaten off with heavy losses, but the survivors heed Nhlappo’s orders to evacuate, leaving both Nhlappo and her land forces to an uncertain fate.

  Tens of light-years away, the Second Battle of Khallini is the most significant engagement of the Civil War to date. On the eve of battle, Arun reveals a secret to Xin and Springer. Long ago, the Trog known as Pedro secretly combined their DNA to create embryos for use as ‘backups’. There are fifty, still stored as frozen embryos, who are the genetic descendants of Arun and Xin, and another fifty from Arun and Springer. Before they can discuss this revelation further, the battle is upon them. Technical innovation, and the skill of the Legion forces, mean they prevail against the larger 3rd Fleet. During the battle’s course, an enraged Springer intends to kill Xin, but instead saves her life. The technical genius, Furn, uses the battle as cover to attempt a murder of Xin and Arun’s embryos, to further the ambitions of the woman he loves, Springer. As soon as she discovers what Furn has done in her name, a disgusted Springer turns herself in.

  Before an exhausted Arun can deal with the situation, he receives an unexpected communication. The White Knight Emperor himself has made contact, and wishes to negotiate an alliance with the Human Legion…

  The year is 2602AD. This is the turning point in the War Against the White Knights …

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  THE BATTLE OF EARTH

  The Annals of the Human Legion concludes with the fight for Earth... and the survival of the species she birthed.

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  Table of Contents

  — Preface —

  — Prologue —

  —— PART I ——

  — Chapter 01 —

  — Chapter 02 —

  — Chapter 03 —

  — Chapter 04 —

  — Chapter 05 —

  — Chapter 06 —

  — Chapter 07 —

  —— PART II ——

  Human Legio
n — INFOPEDIA —

  — Chapter 08 —

  — Chapter 09 —

  — Chapter 10 —

  — Chapter 11 —

  — Chapter 12 —

  —— PART III ——

  Human Legion — INFOPEDIA —

  — Chapter 13 —

  — Chapter 14 —

  — Chapter 15 —

  — Chapter 16 —

  — Chapter 17 —

  — Chapter 18 —

  — Chapter 19 —

  — Chapter 20 —

  — Chapter 21 —

  — Chapter 22 —

  — Chapter 23 —

  — Chapter 24 —

  — Chapter 25 —

  — Chapter 26 —

  — Chapter 27 —

  —— PART IV ——

  Human Legion — INFOPEDIA —

  — Chapter 28 —

  — Chapter 29 —

  — Chapter 30 —

  — Chapter 31 —

  — Chapter 32 —

  — Chapter 33 —

  — Chapter 34 —

  — Chapter 35 —

  — Chapter 36 —

  — Chapter 37 —

  — Chapter 38 —

  — Chapter 39 —

  — Chapter 40 —

  — Chapter 41 —

  — Chapter 42 —

  — Chapter 43 —

  — Chapter 44 —

  —— PART V ——

  Human Legion — INFOPEDIA —

  — Chapter 45 —

  — Chapter 46 —

  — Chapter 47 —

  — Chapter 48 —

  — Chapter 49 —

  — Chapter 50 —

  — EPILOGUE —

  — Preceding Events —

  Table of Contents

  — Preface —

  — Prologue —

  —— PART I ——

  — Chapter 01 —

  — Chapter 02 —

  — Chapter 03 —

  — Chapter 04 —

  — Chapter 05 —

  — Chapter 06 —

  — Chapter 07 —

  —— PART II ——

  Human Legion — INFOPEDIA —

  — Chapter 08 —

  — Chapter 09 —

  — Chapter 10 —

  — Chapter 11 —

  — Chapter 12 —

  —— PART III ——

  Human Legion — INFOPEDIA —

  — Chapter 13 —

  — Chapter 14 —

  — Chapter 15 —

  — Chapter 16 —

  — Chapter 17 —

  — Chapter 18 —

  — Chapter 19 —

  — Chapter 20 —

  — Chapter 21 —

  — Chapter 22 —

  — Chapter 23 —

  — Chapter 24 —

  — Chapter 25 —

  — Chapter 26 —

  — Chapter 27 —

  —— PART IV ——

  Human Legion — INFOPEDIA —

  — Chapter 28 —

  — Chapter 29 —

  — Chapter 30 —

  — Chapter 31 —

  — Chapter 32 —

  — Chapter 33 —

  — Chapter 34 —

  — Chapter 35 —

  — Chapter 36 —

  — Chapter 37 —

  — Chapter 38 —

  — Chapter 39 —

  — Chapter 40 —

  — Chapter 41 —

  — Chapter 42 —

  — Chapter 43 —

  — Chapter 44 —

  —— PART V ——

  Human Legion — INFOPEDIA —

  — Chapter 45 —

  — Chapter 46 —

  — Chapter 47 —

  — Chapter 48 —

  — Chapter 49 —

  — Chapter 50 —

  — EPILOGUE —

  — Preceding Events —

 

 

 

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