Shadow Sun Rebellion

  Shadow Sun

  Rebellion

  Dave Willmarth

  Copyright © 2019 by Dave Willmarth

  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 non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law.

  All characters and events depicted in this novel are entirely fictitious. Any similarity to actual events or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental

  Chapter 1

  Before leaving for New York on their new space yacht, Allistor contacted Kira and Gene to see if they wanted to tag along. He also invited Sam, Ramon, Michael, George, Lars, and Logan. They all rushed through the teleporters to the Wilderness and out to the ship. Introductions were made, and Michael couldn’t help himself.

  “You’re an orc, right?” he asked Harmon.

  Harmon stared at him for a moment, his sledgehammer fists clenching. Taking a deep breath and releasing it slowly, he replied, “Please do not use that term when referring to my people. It is a shortening of our name and considered an insult. I will forgive you, because I realize you have no way of knowing any better. I am of the Orcanin race. You may refer to us as Orcan in the singular, or when speaking of our goods, as Orcan in general if you feel the need to shorten the name.”

  Michael held up both hands in a gesture of surrender. “I apologize, Harmon. The… other term is how your people have been described in our books, movies, and games for more than a hundred years. I truly didn’t know it was an insult. I will pass the word on to the others, so that no further offense is made.”

  Harmon reached out and patted the human, who was less than half his size, gently on the back. “No harm done, Michael. And I appreciate you spreading the word. It is an ongoing issue; one we encounter at each new world. Long ago my ancestors were slaves, bred for labor and battle. Our masters had great contempt for us, and referred to us as orcs. Somehow the term made it into the system’s programming for the preparatory lore material delivered to planets ahead of absorption into the Collective. The stories, movies, and games you refer to. Thus, with each new planet we must overcome the perceptions ingrained within the local citizenry. We have evolved in the millennia since we won our freedom, yet still we are viewed as little better than savage beasts.”

  “I’m sorry, Harmon. We will do all we can to alter that perception among my people. You are clearly an intelligent, sophisticated, and honorable being.” Allistor bowed his head, hands pressed together in front of him.

  “And handsome, too.” Amanda said as she winked at Helen.

  “Thank you, both.” Harmon grinned, showing the sharp teeth between his tusks. He tilted his head for a moment, then added, “You might want to spread the word about goblins and elves, as well. Goblins are not the brainless weaklings your lore likely portrays them to be. They are small in stature, yes. But quite strong for their size, and clever. They do generally have disagreeable dispositions, and a penchant for acquisition through legal means or otherwise. The lore often misleads new races into underestimating them, costing many lives.” He checked his wrist for a moment.

  “As for elves, they rarely show themselves on any worlds but their own. They consider themselves among the elite species, and do not tolerate ‘lesser races’ often. Elves are long-lived, nearly immortal if the truth be told. I have met elves that can remember when the Collective was only a dozen worlds. No recorded history that I’ve seen goes back that far.”

  Harmon pulled on a hilt that stuck out of his boot. “I carry this as a reminder of a time I spent with an elven healer. In my youth I served as a mercenary. Most of my unit was wiped out attempting to defend an elven outpost against overwhelming numbers. I managed to escape into a nearby forest, but was badly wounded. An old elf named Daigath healed me, and sheltered me in his home until it was safe for me to leave. He was ancient, even for elves, and had spent millennia learning to craft. He shaped the wood of this blade with his bare fingers, singing to the wood as he formed it.”

  The orcan offered the blade to Allistor, who took it in hand. It almost had the weight of a steel blade, but the entire weapon was a single piece of extremely dense wood. The blade curved gracefully back from the tip to the hilt guard, with intricate whorls of vines etched into its length. The handle felt warm to the touch, and seemed to mold itself to Allistor’s grip as he held it.

  “This is… beautiful.” Allistor handed the weapon to Helen to inspect.

  Harmon chuckled. “For certain collectors, a blade like that is worth nearly as much as this ship, my friend. Daigath is a master crafter, and his reputation was legendary when the Collective was young. These days, few of his works remain, and he rarely creates more. This may be his last, and I have carried it for a hundred years or more.”

  “Now!” Harmon changed the subject as the weapon was returned to him. “We must be on our way. The trip to New York City will take about twenty minutes. This ship could make the trip in ten, but the skies are quite crowded just now. Is everyone here? Do you have what you need?”

  “We should bring one of the Juggernauts, so Nigel can reach us while we’re away from the ship.” Allistor suggested. “In case one of our properties is attacked.”

  Since there was room in the cargo hold, Harmon escorted them to the cargo bay and demonstrated how to open the main bay door. Sam hopped in and drove the Juggernaut up the ramp. The large vehicle looked small in the massive space, where there was room for at least five or six more. After Alpha, the ship’s AI, informed them that the vehicle was magnetically secured, they all went up to the bridge.

  Allistor thought Kira and Gene would explode with excitement as they walked onto the bridge. Kira went straight for the captain’s seat, her eyes unfocused as she read something on her interface. Gene asked about engineering, and Harmon pointed him to the proper station, just to the right of the captain’s chair. In seconds, Gene was also spaced out and communing with the ship.

  Harmon tapped Kira on the shoulder a moment later. “Ahem. We really should be going. Would you like me to show you how to pilot the ship?”

  Kira shook her head. “Nope, I think I’ve got it. My Aviator skill level is high enough that I can access the pilot’s interface. It looks pretty simple, actually.” She paused, giving him a wry smile. “But don’t go too far away, in case I mess up.”

  The ship’s engines fired up even as she was finishing her sentence. Allistor and company barely felt any sensation as the landing gear retracted and the ship hovered in place. When Kira gave the engines a boost and increased the elevation, the ship rose more quickly than she’d intended. “Oopsy.” she mumbled as she made an adjustment, and the ascent slowed.

  Helen, standing behind Kira’s seat, snorted. “Just the thing you want to hear from your pilot.”

  When they were several thousand feet up, Kira did something to make the ship go forward, and they were on their way.

  “This is so cool!” She nearly exploded with enthusiasm. “I can see a 3D display of the planet, complete with topography, real time weather conditions, and major landmarks. I don’t even have to plot a course. I just select New York and the AI does it for me.”

  Harmon said, “Pardon my reach.” before touching a few control keys on the chair’s arm, and the globe appeared for all of them in the form of a green and blue 3D hologram floating in the air in front of Kira. There was a star marking their current location, and another over New York, with an arcing line in between.

  Amanda noticed hundreds of moving dots floating above the spa
ce in between. “Are all of those dots other ships?”

  “Exactly so, Lady Amanda. Very astute of you. They are the reason we must take a more roundabout route. I expect the skies over UCP 382… err, I mean Earth, will be crowded for several days yet. Often, new worlds are largely ignored except by mining consortiums and a few hundred colonist groups. But there is much interest in this world, in part due to the factions’ interest in Allistor. A few took notice of your early actions, and began to wager on you. As those wagers got noticed, more joined in and the amounts increased. You and your planet have been the talk of many social circles in recent weeks.”

  “Me?” Allistor looked confused.

  “Did you not notice the large amount of Fame and Infamy Points being awarded to you?” Harmon asked, surprised.

  “I suppose. I mean, I saw them, though after a while I mostly ignored them in favor of more important notifications. I don’t really understand that part of the system, and frankly had more immediate things to worry about.” Allistor sounded a little defensive.

  “I understand. But now that you are members of the Collective, you will find that Fame and Infamy, and the interplay between the factions, are vitally important. When we have more time, I’ll sit with you and we can speak about it in detail.”

  Harmon’s bracelet must have gone off again, because he excused himself and retired to the corridor where he began to mumble softly.

  A sudden explosion rocked the ship, forcing those who were standing to grab hold of a rail or chair back to steady themselves as the deck tilted to one side. The light in the room went red, and an alarm sounded. Alpha’s voice echoed through the bridge. “We are under attack. Recommend activating shields and weapons systems.”

  Harmon came running back onto the bridge. “Alpha! Activate shields and give us a tactical display, main screen!” Another hit rocked the ship, and a second alarm went off.

  “Hull breach in Section 32A Deck 2.” Alpha reported.

  The image on the viewscreens changed from the horizon in front of them to an angle that looked backward and up from the ship’s hull. There was a small, wicked-looking ship pacing them from their relative nine-o’clock and slightly behind. It bristled with sharp angles and weapons, with a small cockpit window at the front. Shaped like an arrowhead, it banked hard to the left and took up a new position above the other side of the yacht at about three-o’clock.

  As Allistor watched, a translucent layer seemed to form around the ship. It wasn’t a big bubble like he was used to seeing in sci-fi movies. This skin seemed to hover a few feet from the ship’s hull, forming to fit the shape of the vessel like a glove. The attacking ship fired again, and though they could hear an impact, there was no accompanying motion of the ship.

  “We need someone at the tactical station!” Harmon shouted as he quickly but gently lifted Kira out of the captain’s seat and took her place. Within a second, a complicated looking tactical display appeared in place of the globe hologram. It showed a diagram of the attacking ship along with scrolling information along one side.

  Sam held up a hand. “I’m the gunner here, which station?” When Harmon pointed to one of the seats on the lower deck in front of him, Sam hopped in. A moment later another holo-display appeared in front of him as his station lit up.

  “It’s a pirate ship. Goblin construction. I don’t know what they’re thinking! Their weapons are not capable of penetrating this ship’s shield.” Harmon observed.

  Meg, who was now holding on to the back of Sam’s chair and peering over his shoulder, suggested, “Maybe they thought they could take us out with that first shot?”

  Harmon was quiet. After a moment, he said, “Lady Meg, would you please take the seat next to Sam’s. That is the sensor monitoring station. Alpha, please instruct her on how to activate long range sensors, as well as stealth countermeasures.”

  “Of course, pilot Harmon. And I have activated all weapons systems. Repulsors and plasma cannons are charged and ready.”

  “What’s going on?” Amanda asked Harmon, who was busy studying the enemy ship’s information.

  “The ship is a goblin design. I’m trying to decide whether it’s some fool pirate who purchased a goblin ship and is overestimating his capabilities, or whether it has an actual goblin crew. If there are goblins in there, then there will almost certainly be more ships. They run in packs of four and five, the combined power of their weaker weapons working together to drain a ship’s shield or overpower it. Much like a pack of canids, working together.”

  Sam called out. “Okay, I think I got these guns figured out. Firing!”

  There was a slight shudder as several of the ship’s cannons fired at once. Allistor watched the view screen as he saw four blue plasma bolts and two waves of almost transparent red energy rush toward the ship.

  The pirate ship tried to evade, and almost succeeded. But two of the plasma bolts struck its side, causing a small explosion. Then the slower energy waves that Allistor assumed were the repulsor weapons struck the ship from two different angles. The body of the ship seemed to ripple, and it stopped dead in the air, quickly falling behind them as it dropped like a stone.

  “Woohoo! Best video game ever!” Sam shouted.

  Meg slapped the back of his head gently, but then kissed it. “Good shootin’, Tex.” She turned to the others. “The sensors aren’t picking up any other ships closer than two hundred miles.”

  Gene called out. “Engineering report from the hits we took. One of our stabilizers is down, but there are several others to compensate. There’s an outer hull breach, so no going out into space. That would be bad. There are repair bots that will seal the hole when we land.”

  Harmon added. “It seems it was just the one ship. I’ve marked the location where it fell. Sam’s shots exposed its drive system, and the repulsor hits shut the engine down. I doubt they would have been able to restart before they hit the ground, so it’ll be right where it fell. From this altitude, the impact will be catastrophic. Still, it would be a good idea to stop on our way back and search the wreckage. I am… suspicious.”

  The smartly dressed orcanin rose from the captain’s seat and gestured with a flourish for Kira to resume her spot. “My apologies for the quick removal, pilot Kira.”

  “No worries, I wouldn’t have known what to do.” She nodded at him. A moment later she had called the navigational holo-globe back up, and they continued smoothly on course.

  Feeling useless, Allistor moved to the front of the bridge and took a seat at one of the stations. He watched the massive viewscreen in front of him as they left the mountains behind and shot across the plains of the Midwest. As they curved slightly north, he recognized the Great Lakes, and the massive metropolis that was Chicago on the western edge. The city looked dead and badly damaged in the brief seconds he could see it before it was gone behind them. Detroit followed quickly after, and that was all he saw before Helen distracted him.

  “So, since I became your Minister, my interface has absorbed the records of all the National Parks that you now own. I was just doing a little checking, to see where we might land this beast. Turns out Battery Park, on the southern tip of Manhattan, is just about ten blocks from the depository. And there’s an open space Kira can land without killing too many trees.”

  Kira made a few quick motions with her hand, and the holographic globe zoomed in on the city, then farther in when she touched the general area on the map. When it got to about five thousand feet elevation, it switched to a clear, precise color representation of the southern tip of Manhattan Island. The park showed up in crisp green contrast to the concrete and asphalt of the city, and the deep blue of the water.

  “Looks good. That’s where I’ll set her down.” Kira confirmed.

  Harmon nodded his agreement. “There is sufficient space there.” He twisted his wrist and the view went from vertical to horizontal. He studied the skyline of lower Manhattan. “Yes, I think this will do nicely. There are any number of acceptable buildin
gs here. Tall enough for views of the water, and storage space for my wares. Perfect!”

  He looked at Allistor. “Do you have a preference? As Planetary Prince, the first choice is yours.”

  Allistor looked at Helen. She consulted her interface for a moment, then experimented with the holo-map. She moved it slightly north, returning it to a vertical view, then zoomed in on a red-roofed building that was shorter than those around it.

  “This is the one we want.” She nodded to Allistor.

  Harmon looked disappointed. “It is not very grand, for a Prince.” He took control of the map and zoomed in to street level, then pulled back to horizontal and focused it on the front of the structure. It was a stone building maybe twelve or fifteen stories, that filled the entire city block. It featured a row of tall arched windows all along the first level. Allistor couldn’t make out much more detail before Harmon zoomed in on the iron bars covering each of those tall windows.

  “Ah, let me guess. Another gold depository?” The orcanin’s right eyebrow raised as he grinned at Allistor.

  “That is correct. And if you’d like to join us in clearing the building, I’ll give you a share of the gold inside.”

  “Tempting. But I must claim a property of my own, and quickly. This will be a popular spot for my fellow colonists. Major city, close to the water, with infrastructure mostly intact.” Harmon cleared his throat. “May I offer some advice?”

  “Always!” Allistor leaned forward, eager to absorb whatever information his new ally wanted to impart.

  “I was not joking when I said a Planetary Prince should present a certain… image. I understand your desire to take the depository. That method of accumulating wealth has worked quite well for you. But I suggest you also claim this structure.” Harmon spun the view around to show a much taller building across the street with a half-melted Chase Bank sign on it. The thing had to be forty or fifty stories high. And indeed, when Harmon zoomed out, it was one of the tallest buildings in the neighborhood.