The Relissarium Wars Omnibus Read online

  Theo heard Cherish’s sonic gun fire three times. Each blast struck Garth’s prone body. “I’m not taking chances with that freak this time. Three shots will hold him, until we get the hell out of here.”

  Theo’s eyes were still locked on the Relissarium. “Did you see what happened when his blade hit the slab? I thought it was going to explode.”

  “I’m sure Hubard will want to know. Hey, look who’s here.”

  Walking towards them, from the direction of the hovercraft, were Makram and Irane. They seemed to be calm, even though minutes ago there had been a flurry of bullets and laser shots aimed at them.

  “I thought you guys were shooting it out with the soldiers? Did they run?” Cherish waved at them, but looked around confused.

  Makram nodded. “They pulled back. Hubard and the others brought out some of the big toys we picked up from that post. They’re shooting plasma grenades up the hill. I don’t think we’ll have to worry.”

  The cove lit up with the light of a new sun. Makram looked up into the sky. “Drop shuttle’s here! Time to pack this load up, and go!” He turned back to the carrier, and ran to it, with Irane hot on his heels.

  Cherish and Theo returned to the cargo ship. They watched, as the shuttle came down on a column of flames. In the distance, they could see grenades firing up the hill and exploding, to keep the militiamen at bay. That would buy them a little time.

  After a few minutes to cool down, the back end of the shuttle popped open, and the pilot emerged, blaster in hand. He’d known this landing was a hot zone, and didn’t want to take any chances. His voice was cautious. “Cierra! I’m here to pick up a group with Sub-commander Cierra!”

  “Got her right here! She’s not her usual self. Took a hit from a sonic gun.” Cherish and Hojae lugged Cierra out of the cargo ship.

  The pilot compared her face to a picture he carried. “Looks like her. All right, there’s supposed to be some more to this cargo. What is it?”

  “Got it!” Makram yelled as he and the rest of the Carbonari made a line, with some small electric carts. They ran the guns out of it, to the drop shuttle. Theo noticed the load was a little lighter than before. Grenades continued to be lobbed up into the hills.

  “Is that all? You have five minutes and then I leave!” His expression was serious.

  “Those rocks! Can we take them?” She pointed at the mineral slabs, near Garth’s unconscious body.

  The pilot walked over to the slabs, and kicked one. “Seems light enough. What about him?”

  “He stays,” Cherish said, thickly.

  “Fine. Now, get this crap loaded. If I’m one pound over, somebody gets kicked out of the cargo door.” The pilot walked back inside the ship.

  It took an extra two minutes for the team on the ground to load the mineral slabs. At T-minus one minute, the pilot began to spin the warning lights, and let loose with a siren. Theo was inside, and strapped in by that time. He watched as Hubard ran up the cargo hold, and skidded into the passenger section. It was a tight fit, but they’d managed to get everything they wanted on board. Ropes bound the slabs of Relissarium to the belly of the cargo bay. Crates of guns, and other weaponry, were stacked from the floor to the ceiling.

  Hubard struggled to catch his breath. “I had to send the last of those plasma grenades over the rocks. The militia saw the shuttle land, and they were ready for one final push. I waited until they tried to set something up over the hills, and unleashed a barrage. I think it took them out.” There was a rumble outside the shuttle, as the ground shook. Hubard squinted, and winced apologetically. “Maybe I missed a few.”

  The pilot yelled back to the passenger compartment. “Holy shit! That was an attack ship. Time to go, people. I’m lighting the torch.”

  Theo felt his stomach slam to the back of the couch, as the pilot fired all his plasma engines at maximum throttle. The shuttle leapt off the ground, accelerating rapidly. The pilot yelled something about evasive action, but Theo didn’t care by that time. All he wanted to do was maintain consciousness, so that he could be sure they’d made it to orbit. He didn’t succeed. His face was pushed back towards his ears from the G force, and everything went black.

  Cherish unlatched Theo’s safety harness. By that point, everyone was floating around the passenger area. Cherish gave him a bottle of water to drink, and checked his pulse.

  “We’re safe,” she said. “The pilot knows a few tricks to get us back to Relisse. Everyone but me blacked out on takeoff. That kind of G was the only way to make orbit quickly enough to get away from the attack ships.”

  “All I want is to get home and put this mess behind me.” Theo slowly sipped from the bottle she had given him. “How’s Cierra?”

  “I’m doing good,” she replied, from across the cabin. “Guess I beat the twelve-hour mark on the sonic gun, too. It just took me a little longer to come around.”

  Cherish nodded. She was still concerned with Theo’s vitals. “The acceleration pushed things up.” Her eyes lit up, as she remembered something. Cherish snapped her fingers, and turned to Cierra. “Oh, I heard from your husband, he’s back on Relisse.”

  Good. The two of them can go back to playing dangerous revolutionaries, and leave me alone, Theo thought. He took another swig from the bottle.

  “I want to talk to you about the way the mineral performed.” Hubard pulled himself over to Theo’s seat. “Cherish said it sparked, when the infintium blade hit it. Did you see that happen, too?”

  “Not only did the blade spark, but I saw one blade broken in half when it hit a slab. It didn’t hit that hard, either. Is there something about this mineral that makes it do that?” It was harder for Theo to hide his genuine excitement and curiosity than he wanted to admit.

  Hubard was bubbly with exhilaration and passion. “It absorbs energy like nothing I’ve ever seen! This is the sort of thing we need, for our cause. History is filled with technological advances that changed the tide of battle.”

  “Oh! The electric security field repelled a slab I tossed into it. Didn’t even bother the metal, and it felt cool to the touch afterwards.”

  Hubard’s eyes sparkled. He made some notes on a pad, and returned it to his pocket. “Thanks! That gives me all kinds of ideas on how to put it to use.” He drifted off into the cargo area to examine the slabs that were corded down near the rear bulkhead.

  Once Hubard had left, Cierra came over to sit beside Theo. “Cherish tells me you did a good job out there. I know you’ve got a wife and kids back home, but you should consider joining up with us. We can use a good man. I’m sure your brother could put a word in for you, at the council.”

  Theo laughed dryly. “Thanks, but all I want is to get home, and back to my farm. You are going to follow through on the extra money you promised, aren’t you?”

  “Of course, little brother. I’m sure you’ll get everything that’s coming to you.” She winked and wandered back to another part of the passenger area.

  It hit Theo that the group had to have been infiltrated if the CRM knew their location at Smuggler’s Point. He suspected the island was used a lot by the militia to trap big fish, and the little ones could run whatever small items they wanted. This operation had counted as a big one, and the militia was adamant about keeping them on the planet. In spite of that, they’d somehow managed to make orbit.

  The original plan was for the drop shuttle to link up with a small-time transporter that ran goods between planetoids, but the rapid departure had made that almost impossible now. However, the insane ride into space had a benefit: the shuttle was already on a direct course for Relisse. They’d be stuck with each other until the pilot dropped them off, at some hidden location. All Theo wanted was to make sure it wasn’t too far away from his farm. At least he could return to the crops, and his family. His brother and sister-in-law could do whatever they wanted from now on, so long as it didn’t involve him. Theo leaned back on his couch, and tried to catch some sleep.

  Five

&nb
sp; The screams tore Theo out of his sleep instantly. Two blinks, and he remembered why he was on the shuttle, and where he was headed, though not why. Looking ahead, he saw Cierra, and a few strange characters gathered at the viewport at the front of the cockpit. Who the hell were they?

  Then, adrenaline brought all the strange violence of the last twenty-four hours back. But, why were they screaming?

  Theo was the only one still seated. He instinctively unsnapped his harness, and used the seat in front of him to propel himself up and forward to join the rest of the group. Groggily, clumsily, he pulled himself to the cockpit, the tears and screaming unceasing.

  Theo grabbed Cierra’s shoulder, and used her to steady himself so he could get a better look outside. Relisse was on fire. The entire surface of the planet was nothing but a deep, red, fiery glow.

  “Gone,” Cierra whispered. “The surface of Relisse is burning! All of it. Nothing can survive that hell!”

  “What happened?” Theo stammered. “When did it happen?”

  “Started maybe… a minute ago,” Cierra said. “The pilot was about to make his approach and then…this!”

  “I have no idea what’s going on,” the pilot said. “I had the location crew on the surface giving me landing instructions, and then...”

  “Any other transmissions from the surface?” Cherish asked.

  “Nothing. It’s dead down there…wait a minute, something big’s coming. Fast! Prepare for evasive maneuvers!”

  The passengers grabbed handles, and held on for dear life, as the pilot slammed the engines to maximum thrust. Seconds later, a Yasta cruiser moved past them, so close they could make out details like ports, hatches, gun turrets and thrusters on its surface. Then, the glare from its engines made them squint, as they watched it soar over them and then disappear.

  “Portal,” the pilot told the others. “Cruiser opened a portal and took off. Guess it was planned.”

  “Yeah,” Cierra mumbled. “That Yasta ship had something to do with this.”

  Theo could feel the sharp blade of hatred go through everyone’s heart.

  The shuttle drifted in space, for another two days standard. There was nowhere to go. A few other transport vessels had made it off the surface before the firestorm began. The spread of the incineration was so quick that only two achieved orbital velocity in time.

  “Any word from the other regional governments?” Theo asked Cherish, as she tried to find some transmissions on the afternoon of the second day.

  “Everyone’s stunned,” she told him. “They don’t know what caused it. There were no experimental fuel stations, or energy production down there at the time. No known instabilities on the surface. No impacts from interstellar objects. It’s a complete mystery. Even the Emperor is sending a science team in to investigate.”

  Theo tried not to think about his family. He only prayed that whatever happened to them was quick. He could tell Cierra didn’t want to think about Remi.

  “I’ve talked with the Brotherhood’s grand council,” Cierra told them, later. “They have a place where the shuttle can dock and we can disembark.” Theo noted she didn’t use the term ‘Carbonari’.

  “They’re putting together a special unit, after what happened on Relisse,” she continued. “We all saw that Yasta cruiser leave after the firestorm, right? It doesn’t take much to figure out who’s to blame. If anyone is interested in joining up with the new unit, see me. Just so you know, the new unit will be called Strike Force Retaliation.”

  An hour later, Theo sat in his flight chair and stared forward, dazed. He felt dead on the inside. Cierra drifted over. She touched his forearm, which seemed to break his trance. “I’d like to have you as part of the new unit,” she told him. “I don’t have to tell you why.”

  “Strike Force Retaliation,” he mumbled, the cogs in his mind turning much too slowly, due to shock and a lack of sleep. “Retaliation,” he repeated. Then, he looked directly at Cierra. “We’ve both lost the ones we loved. I’d say there’s some retaliating to do.”

  Blood Red

  The Relissarium Wars Space Opera Series, Book 2

  One

  “Give me five more!” Hojae barked at Theo. The Josti stood in front of him, a shield in one hand and a wooden sword in the other.

  Theo lifted his thin metal helm, to wipe away the sweat from his eyes. “It’s only my second week! Give me a chance to catch my breath!”

  “Your second week? How could I forget?” Hojae softened his voice to give Theo a momentary glimpse of hope, before snapping back into his drill-sergeant demeanor. “If it’s your second week, you should be able to give me ten more!”

  Theo groaned. When the Carbonari masters had told him Hojae would be leading his training, he had thought it would be more like two friends sparring off. He couldn’t have been more wrong. “You know, I think I liked it better when you only used two arms.”

  “Oh? Would you like to go back to that?”

  Hojae tucked his two lower arms behind his back, and charged at Theo. His wooden training sword plummeted down in full force. Theo’s arms ached, but he tried to counter the blow. His breath came in strenuous puffs, but he managed to keep the Josti’s sword braced against his own. A cocky smile spread across Theo’s face, but it was short lived. In the space of a heartbeat, Hojae pulled out is lower limbs and delivered a quick series of jabs and cross punches to Theo’s midsection.

  Theo crumpled to the ground, clutching his ribs. “Hey!”

  “On the battlefield, do not expect your opponent to fight fair! Expect the unexpected. Now get up. You still owe me ten more.” Hojae twirled the wooden sword over his head. He began to circle around, as if stalking his prey. With the protective helm on, the Josti appeared to be some sort of demon from hell.

  Theo struggled to his feet. It was always awkward to stand back up after he had been knocked down. The armor padding he was wearing made him ungainly. The extra weight made it harder to move, and the heat that it trapped in drenched him with sweat. It would be so much easier to move without the restrictive armor plating. The Carbonari never wore it in battle, so why did he have to train in it? “You wear it so I can hit you as hard as I like, and not bash your brains into your skull!” Hojae’s voice still rung in his ears. The purple bruise on Theo’s back ached with the memory.

  “I still don’t understand the need to learn to use a shield.” Theo managed to throw up a block, intercepting another strike from the Josti. “These things aren’t as big as the ones I saw the militia use.”

  “It gives you a sense of situational awareness.” Hojae circled around Theo, and looked for an opening. His eyes were bright and keen. Noticing Theo following his movements, Hojae looked down. Theo followed to see if his opponent found some opening. Before Theo looked back up, Hojae popped him in the face grille with a hard whack. Theo was knocked to the ground.

  Theo sucked in a sharp breath. He bit the inside of his cheek to keep from cursing. He should have seen that coming. Exhaustion was fogging his mind, and slowing down his reflexes. Theo stood up, and dusted himself off.

  “See? Situational awareness. You were concentrating so much on me that you let me fake you out. What I did was an old trick. You need to learn your opponent’s body language.” Hojae moved back for another round. A satisfied smile lit up his demonically shrouded face. For a moment, Theo wished he could get close enough to knock both the helm and the smile off of his teacher’s face.

  Cherish broke up their training session. “Hojae, why don’t you let Cierra and I work with him for a while? I know you like beating him up, but he needs to learn from different people. There won’t be only one fighting style in the field.”

  “Well and good.” Hojae nodded. He unsnapped his helm, and pulled it off. He turned to Theo, who’d managed to wipe most of the sweat from his face. Trails of dust turned to mud along his cheeks and forehead. “Remember what I told you about being alone in space.” Hojae picked up his gear and walked back toward the main hall.


  “What did he mean by that?” Cherish cast a curious glance at her retreating teammate.

  Theo was glad to have a moment to breathe. “I’m not sure. Something about not having anyone around to help you. I made the mistake of telling him, last week, that I wouldn’t have to worry so much during my first time out because there would be plenty of the Brotherhood around me. I still have the bruise on my arm he gave me for that remark.” He winced, and lifted his injured arm.

  “At least you didn’t challenge him to hit you somewhere.” Cierra snorted and rolled her eyes. “I’ve seen the results from that, and it’s not pretty.”

  “Cierra, you go a few rounds with him. Let me watch. I’ll see if I can tell Theo what he’s doing wrong.” Both women were armored up to fight. Cherish stepped back a few paces to give them room to spar.

  “Hey, I’ve got an idea.” Theo readied himself on the practice field. He was close to the same height as Cierra, but he still had reservations about striking a woman. In his former life, being a wife beater was the worst thing anyone could say about a man.

  She scoffed under her breath. “After training with Hojae, I’m surprised you’re able to think anything at all. We had a bet going about whether or not you would have brain damage.”

  “Oh, yeah? I bet you made a killing off of that one.”

  Cierra shrugged her shoulders. “Not really. I didn’t think you’d last two days.” She watched the shock of her words roll over his face. “Now, what was your idea?”

  Theo glared at her, but he continued his thought. “Why don’t we make this interesting? If I win, you tell me what planet we are on, and if you win, you still tell me what planet we’re on.”