Star Scavenger: The Complete Series Books 1-5

by G J Ogden

  Goliath completed its passage through yet another portal, emerging into a dense asteroid field in a system it had visited twice before. The first time had been to seed it. The second had been to annihilate the life it had planted there. However, this system was now merely another stepping stone on its journey to complete its task.

  The portal snapped shut, creating a massive spatial distortion that rippled through the void surrounding the great ship. Asteroids in the neighboring area were torn apart like ice cubes smashed with a hammer. The ripple extended out towards the once-inhabited third planet and its moon. The surfaces of both quaked violently as the distortion passed, shaking down what little remained of their once great cities.

  Goliath’s pursuit of the crystal’s signal had been relentless. Then, for a moment the signal had gone. Angered at the thought that it had again been thwarted in its task, Goliath had vented its fury on another long-dead moon, cracking it across its equator like an egg. Then without explanation the signal had returned, closer than ever, and finally within its reach. In the eons since the great ship had been banished, Goliath had wandered aimlessly across the galaxy. Yet soon it would arrive at its final destination.

  Furthermore, like a shark smelling blood, Goliath had also detected corporeal life, though it was beyond the realm of system 5118208. The seed of the corporeals from that world had spread, and Goliath would deal with them first.

  In just two more jumps the extermination could begin. And this time, Goliath vowed that it would emerge triumphant.

  UNION’S END #4

  STAR SCAVENGER SERIES BOOK FOUR

  G J OGDEN

  PROLOGUE

  The Telescope had at one time provided the Corporeals with a limitless window on the galaxy. Along with the creation of the crystals and portals, it was one of their greatest and proudest technological achievements. Using the portals like lenses, the Telescope could refract its signal from one part of the galaxy to another. Never losing integrity, the signal would travel from portal to portal, on and on, until the object of the Corporeals’ interest came into sharp focus.

  The Telescope provided the Corporeals with visibility of every inhabited world they had seeded. For thousands of years, they watched and waited for the first of these worlds to reach a stage of cultural and technological evolution that finally meant they could reveal themselves. For eons the Corporeals had been alone in the galaxy, but soon they would have companions to share it with. With little more of their own culture and knowledge left to expand, this had become what the Corporeals lived for. They craved new art, literature, songs and stories to share. They yearned for new conversations and new points of view, even for arguments. Anything to shake up the status quo.

  They had been patient, wary not to reveal themselves to a species that was much less advanced. The Corporeals did not want to appear to their celestial neighbors as gods, to be feared and revered. Instead, they sought the company of equals. However, Goliath had other ideas.

  When the great ship had begun its rampage of destruction and extermination through the galaxy, the Telescope took on a new purpose. Instead of passively watching the many inhabited worlds, like a bird watcher in a hide, it now aggressively sought out Goliath. The great ship, with its vast intellect, had jumped unpredictably from system to system, to avoid being ambushed. To a casual observer, its movements would have seemed chaotic, even mad. Yet Goliath knew precisely what it was doing. And it knew precisely where it was going.

  Incapable of predicting Goliath’s next target, the Corporeals were unable to concentrate their Revocater armada into a single fighting force. Goliath knew that it was not strong enough to defeat them all. Instead, with no predictable pattern to its attacks, the Corporeals were forced to station a Revocater at each of their seed worlds. The Corporeals believed that these solitary guardians possessed the might to thwart Goliath’s rampage. However, they had underestimated the great ship’s cunning. A single Revocater was easily controlled. It was exactly the situation that Goliath had sought to engineer.

  The only warning a Revocater would get of an attack would come from the Telescope. If the Corporeals could spot Goliath’s arrival soon enough, the Revocater stationed in the system could intercept it. The intention was that their colossal warships would destroy Goliath, before its presence was ever discovered by the worlds it sought to destroy. The hope was that the seed populations would remain blissfully ignorant of the titanic battles that would be waged to protect them. However, Goliath was too ingenious, too devious, and too ruthless. It invaded the cores of the Revocater pilots and twisted their programming to serve its own will. Then it used the Revocaters to exterminate the civilizations they had been sent to protect. The Corporeals could do nothing but watch the slaughter from the Telescope orbiting above their home world, powerless to intervene. By the time another Revocater could be sent as backup, Goliath would have already resumed its erratic ballet of jumps.

  The Telescope had seen horrors unimaginable to most sentient beings, but had endured them willingly. It had to keep its eye focused on Goliath, so that it would warn the Revocaters in time. Yet one by one it watched them fall, until only one last Revocater remained. Then, when all hope was lost, Goliath was conquered, and banished to the galactic core. A single seed world remained, but the last Revocater was also lost. Or so the Telescope thought.

  For millennia, the Telescope had secretly watched Goliath, ever fearful that the great ship might discover a way to return. Then the unthinkable happened – Goliath emerged from its prison of isolation and began a course back to System 5118208. The moment it had dreaded for eons was here. Yet in the midst of darkness there was still hope. The last Revocater was alive, and it was coming home.

  CHAPTER 1

  Cutler Wendell and Logan Griff walked back into the cockpit of the FS-31. They had just returned from restoring the patrol craft’s drive systems, after the transit through the new portal from Sapphire Alpha had knocked out the main reactor. Both were wiping grease and oil from their hands, using worn and dirty rags that had been used for that purpose dozens of times before.

  Tory Bellona had already begun to steadily accelerate away from the newly-opened portal, towards the closest planet in the system. However, even from tens of thousands of kilometers away, it was immediately apparent that this system was different to all the other portal worlds that had been discovered.

  “The closest planet to the portal is a gas giant,” said Tory, as Cutler slid into the second seat. “I’m picking up low levels of Shaak radiation in orbit around it.” Then she looked over to Cutler, appearing slightly perplexed, “You’ll need to run a more detailed scan.”

  Griff hustled over and stood between the two seats, grabbing the headrest of each. “What does that mean?” he asked, gripping the padded fabric tightly. “Are you saying the wreck crashed into the damn gas giant?” The prospect that they’d managed to stumble upon the only portal world ever discovered that didn’t have a wreck to scavenge was making him nauseous. If there was no wreck then the planet was worthless to the RGF. His grip tightened further, as he considered all the different ways that Superintendent Wash could blame and punish him for such a titanic failure. “Is there a wreck or not?” Griff snapped, unable to contain the pressure that was building up inside him, like a geyser ready to erupt.

  “Why don’t you just shut up and wait?” Tory hit back. She was angling her body away from Griff, clearly uncomfortable with his current proximity to her.

  Cutler didn’t answer, and instead continued to quietly analyze the scan results. The wait for the computer to process the data was becoming unbearable. Then, finally, Cutler spoke up.

  “The Shaak radiation is definitely coming from objects orbiting the gas giant,” he began. “The material analysis would suggest that they are fragments of an alien hulk.”

  “Damn it!” snapped Griff, releasing the headrests and punching them in frustration. Tory glowered at him, and Griff quickly moved his hands to his sides, though they were
still balled into fists. “Of all the portal worlds out there, we had to find the only damn one without an intact wreck to scavenge.”

  Tory laughed, and Griff glared down at her, though he was careful not to aim his clenched fists in the mercenary’s direction. “What’s so funny? No wreck means no pay day,” he growled, “and, in case you’ve forgotten, the Council are after us.” Then he remembered Tory’s background and laughed, realizing she was ironically in less danger than he was. “But I guess a former indentured thug like you will just be put straight back into service, right?”

  “I’m never going back to the Council,” said Tory, with a sudden, fierce determination. “I’ll die before I let them take me again.” Then she locked eyes with Griff, and added, “And I’ll kill anyone that tries to double-cross me, or turn me in.”

  As insinuations went, Tory’s was as obvious as the wiry black mustache on Griff’s face. However, he held his tongue, conscious of the mercenary’s fiery temper.

  “This system may still have value,” Cutler interrupted. He had continued working on the scan data, while Tory and Griff sparred.

  “What do you mean?” asked Griff, springing beside Cutler’s seat so he could see his monitors more clearly. Cutler’s words had given him hope that something of their operation could be salvaged. At that moment, he’d take anything that might spare him from Wash’s spiteful fury. “Is there another wreck?”

  Cutler shook his head, “Not another wreck, but I am detecting structures on the largest of the gas giant’s five moons.”

  Griff frowned as he looked at the information on Cutler’s monitor. The scan data meant little to him, but to Griff’s eyes, the long-range images certainly suggested the presence of cities on the surface. He smiled and stepped back, unfurling his fingers.

  “We might have struck pay dirt after all,” said Griff, plucking a cigarette out of the black packet in his shirt pocket.

  Tory scoffed a laugh, “I don’t think the auction houses pay much for alien rubble…”

  Griff glared at Tory again, “Who gives a shit about broken alien ships?” he said, refusing to let Tory’s pessimism sour his reinvigorated mood. “We have entire cities worth of relics to pick through.” He laughed again and placed the cigarette in his mouth, before taking out his lighter. “Who knows; this could be the most valuable little planet in the entire galaxy!” Griff flicked open the lighter, but no sooner had the flame sparked into life than Tory spoke up.

  “Light that thing in here, and I’ll shove it down your throat, lit end first.”

  Griff glanced over to Cutler for support, but he didn’t even acknowledge Tory’s threat, and continued to stare at his screens. Their alliance had always been a fragile one, based on shared interests, but their relationship now seemed to be resting on a knife’s edge.

  Griff closed the lighter and plucked the cigarette from his mouth. “Okay…” he said, before reluctantly sliding the stick back into the packet. “Since you asked so nicely.”

  “Tory, I’ve sent you the co-ordinates for the moon,” said Cutler, again acting as though he was oblivious to Griff and Tory’s quarrelling. “I suggest we move quickly; we don’t know how long we’ll have before others arrive.”

  “Fine by me,” said Tory, adjusting course for the moon. “The sooner we bag a good score, the sooner we can get rid of the bad smell in here.”

  Griff’s blood was almost boiling over, but he bit his tongue again. Then Tory pushed the throttle forward, sending Griff staggering to the rear bulkhead. The force of the acceleration wasn’t enough to make him fall, but he knew Tory had done it deliberately all the same.

  “Oops, I’m sorry, did I forget to remind you to sit down and strap in?” said Tory, glancing back and grinning at Griff. “You might want to take a seat, Inspector. I’d hate for you to get hurt…”

  Griff clambered away from the bulkhead, pulling himself forward using the side consoles like a handrail. He then dropped into his seat and fastened the harness. He was desperate to hit back at Tory, but he could no longer rely on Cutler to support him, or intervene. He had no doubt that Tory would love nothing more than to stick a knife in his throat. However, since Cutler’s announcement that the Council would be hunting for them, he now worried that the mercenary might be having similar thoughts. When the Council boss, Werner, eventually caught up with them, someone would have to take the fall for Liberty having escaped New Providence. Griff’s preferred choice was Tory Bellona; he’d love nothing more than to stitch her up, and teach her a lesson. However, he wasn’t sure if Cutler had a similar plan in mind. And, despite the recent tension between Cutler and Tory, Griff wasn’t yet convinced that Cutler wouldn’t make him the fall-guy instead.

  However, Griff also knew that none of that mattered until he had a big score under his belt. For now, he had to bide his time. As soon as the RGF controlled the new portal world, he’d go back to Superintendent Jane Wash and ask for her protection from the Council. It would cost him in credits, of that he had no doubt, but at least he’d be safe. Then he’d be in a stronger position to negotiate with Werner. However, while the Council hunted them, and until he had earned Wash’s trust and favor again, he still needed Cutler and Tory.

  “Just get us to that moon,” said Griff, relaxing back in the chair. He was desperate for a smoke, but he didn’t want to risk that Tory’s inventive threat had not been a bluff. “Cutler is right, other hunters will be racing each other to get here next. And it won’t be long before the CET and MP make an appearance too.”

  An alarm sounded in the cockpit, and Griff could see a red light illuminate on Cutler’s console. He sighed heavily, and called out to him, “What the hell is the matter now?”

  Cutler seemed strangely uneasy, considering his normally unflappable demeaner. He was working frantically at his console, and again choosing to ignore Griff. This made him feel immediately on-edge. There wasn’t much that managed to rattle Cutler Wendell.

  “Do you see that?” asked Tory, frowning over towards Cutler.

  “See what?” Griff called out. He hated being out of the loop; he was used to being in control, not only of the mission, but the ship too.

  “I see it,” replied Cutler. “Analyzing now…”

  “What the hell do you see?!” Griff called out again.

  Tory glowered back at him, “Will you shut up already? You’re like a damn child, constantly asking ‘are we there yet?’.”

  Cutler was the one to eventually answer Griff’s question. He glanced back and met Griff’s eyes. In them he saw something he very rarely saw from Cutler Wendell – fear.

  “There is another ship or object on an intercept course,” said Cutler.

  “What other ship?” asked Griff, not following. It didn’t seem possible that anyone else could have made it to the Sapphire-Alpha side of the portal yet. “Who is it? Another hunter? The CET, or MP?”

  Cutler shook his head. “It isn’t any of those. It isn’t anything I’ve seen before.” Then he hesitated, seemingly struggling to force the words out. “It appears to be… alien.”

  CHAPTER 2

  Griff watched anxiously as Tory throttled back so that the FS-31 was no longer accelerating towards the oncoming alien vessel. She then pulsed the port thrusters, pushing them into a slightly different trajectory. The unidentified alien ship mirrored her maneuver exactly, and remained on a collision course.

  “Whatever that thing is, it’s tracking our movements,” said Tory. Her tone was urgent, but not panicked. “If we stay on this course, it will smash right through us in a little over three minutes.”

  Cutler reached over to a secondary console and activated the FS-31’s hidden weapon systems. He then pulled the targeting console in front of him and locked on to the alien vessel.

  Griff frowned as the motorized whir of gears deploying the weapons rattled through the deck. “What are you doing?” Griff called over to Cutler. “Surely, you don’t intend to shoot at it?”

  “I don’t know what that
thing is, and I don’t care to find out,” replied Cutler. “So yes, as soon as it is within range, I intend to destroy it.”

  Griff stroked his wiry mustache anxiously. He freely admitted to being more of a ‘shoot first, ask questions later’ personality, but usually he knew what he was shooting at. And firing at an unknown alien ship seemed like an incredibly risky gamble. Now, more than ever, he wished he was on his own patrol craft, and not at the mercy of Cutler’s decisions. He knew as well as the others did how important it was to find a good score on the new moon. However, there was a universe of difference between tackling rival hunters and pompous CET and MP starship captains, and dealing with an unknown alien threat.

  “We should turn around now,” said Griff, choosing to be the voice of reason. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this. We should head back to the portal and wait for the RGF fleet to arrive.”

  “And lose our chance at a big score?” replied Cutler, in a condescending tone that instantly got Griff’s back up. “I haven’t come all this way to leave with nothing, Inspector. And if your RGF friends arrive on that moon before we do, you know full well that I will be cut out of the profits. That is not going to happen.”

  Griff was about to argue back, but Cutler turned away and addressed Tory instead. “Is it just flying directly at us?”

  Tory nodded, “Other than matching any move I make, yes. Its course is arrow straight.”

  Cutler flicked a couple of switches on his weapons systems console. “Good, then it will just fly straight into our shells,” he said.

  “If this doesn’t work, our window to withdraw will be gone,” said Tory, again calmly but with measured urgency.

  “It’s not like you to back down, Tory,” replied Cutler. From the subtle change in the tone of his voice, Griff thought this was bordering on an insult.

  Tory glowered back at Cutler, “I’m not backing down,” she said, clearly angered by Cutler’s response. “I’m just letting you know that if you do this, we’re committed. No going back.”