Defenders of the Rim: Beginnings: A Far Future SciFi Thriller Read online

  Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Author's Page

  Acknowledgements

  Chapter One - Hello the Rim

  Chapter Two - Paths that Just Might Cross

  Chapter Three - The Ship

  Chapter Four - The Mission

  Chapter Five - The Search

  Chapter Six - Reconnaissance

  Chapter Seven - The Line Stops Here

  Chapter Eight - Survival

  Chapter Nine - We Do What We Must

  Chapter Ten - Reunion

  Chapter Eleven - Service to the Empire

  Chapter Twelve - Under Cover

  Chapter Thirteen - Clearing Up Some Things

  Chapter Fourteen - A Little Space Battle

  Chapter Fifteen - A Few Final Details

  Reader's List

  Defenders of the Rim:

  Beginnings

  A Far Future Sci-fi Thriller Novel

  Book 1

  by Randal Sloan

  NVision Books

  Defenders of the Rim: Beginnings - A Far Future SciFi Thriller

  This book is a work of fiction. All characters and events appearing in this work are fictional and any resemblance to real persons or incidents is purely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2017 Randal Sloan

  All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form.

  NVision Books

  P.O. Box 247

  Warrior AL 35180

  ISBN: 978-1-947509-20-7

  July 2017

  Sign up here:

  http://www.randalsloan.com/farfuture/

  Acknowledgements

  Thanks to everyone who I met during the November 2016 National November Write Month (NaNoWriMo) event and the encouragement you gave me to complete that first draft of a novel that was a little different from what I had written before. NaNoWriMo is an organization that helps promote writing within schools and other organizations as well as sponsoring the National November Write Month. (http://nanowrimo.org)

  Special thanks to Dean Borden for her most excellent proofreading and Catherine Borden Sloan for copy editing. Your corrections and suggestions were greatly appreciated.

  Extra special thanks to my beta readers Gerrit Jan van Brenk, Mem Creagh Webb, II, and Tania Ciza. Your feedback was extremely beneficial.

  Cover design by Robin Ludwig Design Inc.

  www.gobookcoverdesign.com

  CHAPTER ONE

  Hello the Rim

  The blue spheres floated invisibly along just off the edge of the Empire’s space lanes. Hiding in the swirls and twists of hyperspace that were avoided by ships traveling between the planets of the Empire, they were too small to be seen on most sensors, and those that saw one thought that it was only a sensor ghost. After all, nothing happened along the Empire’s space lanes; most were quite tame really. Pirates were a fictional story and ship failures occurred so seldom that the few with problems were dealt with quickly. War was a story from the past or a fictional 3D VR flick. The Empire had grown complacent and it was apparent someone was taking advantage of that complacency.

  The first globes traveled unperturbed along their way. The initial launch was a test run to see how effective the technology would be. Their targets were all close to the Rim, the need for a successful extraction critical to the plans of their makers. Those that couldn’t be returned without a patrol ship following would have to self-destruct and if enough of them suffered that fate, the test would be considered a failure and a new plan would have to be developed.

  The first few met with rather good success. They passed through the Empire shipyards at Rigelus 7 without detection, scanning the ships under construction there. The data itself wasn’t the primary goal; after all, the ships under construction there were well known. The drones transmitted their encoded data to a specialized drone using a tight-beam connection. At the end of the day, that drone would attempt to return with its stored data. That return was a critical part of any successful test of the drones.

  The next ones met with mixed success, but it wasn’t the fault of the drones. It was more because their mission was much more difficult. A few made it down to a safe landing in the District Capitol and started following their programmed path. That’s when one of them met with an unfortunate encounter, unfortunate for the globe and particularly unfortunate for the man it encountered.

  Off duty, but still a policeman in all aspects, Gorge Articus was walking along a path near one of the District Admin buildings. Gorge was dedicated to his service, knowing the innocent and weak depended on him. He spotted something a little odd and turned aside to investigate. Smartly, he activated his implants, setting it to record what he was seeing. He was close enough to a node that a near real-time stream was being sent back to his HQ. There wasn’t a reason to bring it to the attention of the dispatcher yet, but it was in the stream, a part of the river that constantly flowed into their systems and was stored in the gigantic repository they maintained.

  Gorge followed the strange light he had seen, drawing his multi-purpose weapon he carried on his belt. Designed primarily to be used as a deterrent, it had a lethal setting to be used as the last resort. Gorge never got to try that setting, not that it would have done him any good. Coming around a corner, he spotted a blue globe, obviously a drone of some kind, and immediately pulsed his implants to send an alert. He fired the first level of stun on his multi, hoping to disrupt the drone’s circuitry, but it didn’t turn out quite like he expected. The globe started pulsing in bright flashes and then it exploded in a huge self-destruct.

  Unfortunately for Gorge, the blast was quite extensive. Even if he had tried to run, he couldn’t have gotten clear. Fortunately for the Empire, HQ received the alert and the video was immediately connected with the explosion. Gorge at least gave his life in a valiant sacrifice. The information he recorded with his implants would be included in the first report of the unknown drones discovered on the Rim of the Empire.

  The incident would be repeated a number of times before the slowly moving District government would recognize the fact. Eventually the data would make it to the Imperial Intelligence group, but at first the significance wouldn’t be noticed. After all, it was buried in a lot of data and no one was crazy enough to attack the Empire. Or so they thought. Plus, unknown to them, someone was working to keep a damper on the reports.

  The Empire was being probed. Was it a prelude to an attack by outside forces or was it a rebel group organizing? Or some combination of both? Who was the agent abetting the plot?

  #

  Newly ranked Lieutenant Jarra Carsean, just graduated from the Rim Patrol’s Officer Candidate School, breathed a sigh of relief as she finally was about to arrive at her destination. She’d never traveled on a high-speed courier ship before; fast and efficient she wouldn’t argue, but not very comfortable and she hoped she never had to do that again. She felt like she’d been stuck in a tiny box for two days. Even the shuttle she was now on seemed roomy.

  Jarra was a tall, blond-haired beauty who carried herself with authority and grace. She knew she had gotten her looks from her mother. But right now, her looks weren’t the main thing that mattered to her. It was what awaited her at her destination.

  Jarra thought back to all that had happened to bring her to this point. Yes, she had graduated with highest honors from the Rim Patrol Officer Candidate School and earned her pilot’s license while doing so. All at the very young age of eighteen; most of her classmates had been in their twenties. Before that she had com
pleted an Imperial Marine training course meant to force even the toughest Marine into having second thoughts; the difficulty of the course hadn’t been the reason she wasn’t a Marine, but the knowledge she had gained in that course had helped push her in the direction of the Rim Patrol. It was here that Jarra felt as an officer she could make the most difference. She knew she was driven to be the best, which was why she was headed to the Rim Patrol District Capitol for her assignment.

  If she were honest with herself, it all began when she was only six years old. The young Jarra had been in her room, waiting for her mother to return from her trip. Her mother had promised she would be back today and take Jarra to the park. Something was wrong, because when she asked her implants, they told her it was already well past the time when her mother was supposed to be home.

  Grabbing her teddy bear, she used the special thing she’d found in her implant menus to open the door. She didn’t know what Override meant, but she knew it opened the door. Young Jarra and Teddy left the playroom to hunt her father, who she knew could take her to her mother. Just before she reached her father’s study she heard voices. It was her father and uncle she could tell, but on hearing the voices she stopped outside the door. She had always been taught not to disturb her father and uncle when they were working, so she listened to be sure it was safe to interrupt.

  Her uncle was speaking, his voice angry she could tell. “We think they were trying to make the shuttle crash look like an accident, but we caught the man who planted the bomb. I detest traitors. He’ll be tried for treason and we’ll see him hang, but it won’t bring Catherine back. I’m so sorry, Marc.”

  Young Jarra caught her breath. Was he talking about her mother? She was supposed to have been on a shuttle bringing her home. Jarra peeked around the doorframe but neither of them saw her. A 3D VR was showing on the wall and she saw a shuttle on fire falling toward a planet’s surface. It was so horrible Jarra had to lean back, sliding down the wall. That looked like Krestel, the planet her mother had been supposed to fly out of to come home.

  Her father spoke then, his voice a little unsteady. “It’s not your fault, James. She knew the risk when she took the job and was willing to give her life for it. Bringing the Lutherian Alliance into the Empire was an important task and she made it happen.” He stopped a moment, trying to gain control of his own emotions.

  Jarra felt her own tears matching the ones she knew her father had. She understood enough to know that her mother wasn’t coming home.

  But then he spoke the words that would change Jarra’s life forever. “I don’t know why she had to die, but she was serving the Empire, the thing she most wanted to do. I should have been there with her. From this day forward, I swear I will serve the Empire to my utmost to honor her. This I will do to show my love for her.”

  Little Jarra, who no longer was so little, never let her father and uncle know she overheard them that evening. But as she found her way back to her room, her poor Teddy had been left behind. Like her father, her tears were still there, but in the privacy of her room she spoke softly, her hand over her heart. “I swear, I will serve the Empire to the utmost of my ability to honor you, Mother. This I do to show my love for you.”

  Six year-old Jarra didn’t know exactly what that meant, but she didn’t care. If her father said he would do it, then so would she. From that point on, the vow she had made was a driving force in her life; she would do her very best to serve the Empire in honor of her mother. Nothing would stop her; nothing!

  Eighteen year-old Jarra continued to honor that vow with the same intensity. At least she had a better idea of what it meant. She had come to love the Empire on her own, but she always would do that little bit extra in honor of her mother. I love you, Mother.

  #

  Jarra snapped back to the current moment as her shuttle came in for a landing. She checked her uniform for at least the tenth time, making sure nothing was out of place, no wrinkles; she wouldn’t want to appear before the District Commander of the Rim Patrol without her uniform being perfect. She checked the wings on her collar, arranging them just so. She had earned those and would display them proudly.

  Jarra had hopes of getting a spot on a Rim Patrol cruiser, hopefully a third shift bridge officer that would at least let her get to see a little of what was going on. Of course, Jarra knew she was one of the youngest ever in the Rim Patrol to receive her Lieutenant’s bars. Part of that was without a doubt due to the incident where she was instrumental in saving the lives of quite a number of her fellow cadets, but nevertheless, she felt like she had earned that rank. She actually wasn’t sure if her new rank would be a benefit to her placement or a hindrance.

  My grades should have been good enough, surely. I know on the academics I did great, but some of the simulations they put us through were impossible. None of my classmates seemed to feel good about them either.

  That was the crazy thing about the 3D VR simulators. You never knew if behind the virtual 3D person next to you was a real person or an AI sent to torment you. Jarra figured the answer would be about fifty-fifty, and if so, some of her classmates didn’t do well at all.

  Jarra had also done very well in the physical aspects of OCS. She had been in the accelerated training and had been expected to have the basic abilities already down. Jarra had those in spades after some of the other training she had taken before entry to OCS. In fact, the training Jarra had completed made that part of OCS look like a walk in the park.

  She had finished at the top in her class in marksmanship, again finding the challenge ridiculously easy. Marines were expected to compete in grueling conditions while dodging simulated return fire; in OCS she simply stood and aimed at a target. Her grades in the physical defense training were even more out of line over her classmates, but after all, Jarra had tried to explain to them she had already completed extensive training in that arena and had asked to be opted out. Unfortunately, her request was denied.

  Jarra remembered as if it were yesterday how that had gone. She had been working out with her classmates in early morning Physical Training or PT, affectionately called Pain and Torture by the students, when one of the training officers had confronted her. Berating her in front of the whole group for not wanting to take his class, he demanded she come up in front of the group.

  Commander Arrgot had been an arrogant man and he’d planned to make an example out of her for having the audacity to try to opt out of his class. After all, his class should have been considered essential, and he knew he was one of the best. Unfortunately for him, his little demonstration didn’t work out like he’d planned. One of the basic tenets of all the training Jarra had received was that she would never compromise herself by not giving it all she had. When the man foolishly launched a surprise attack at her, even though to her it was pathetically simple, in her surprise she responded not only with full force, but also with deadly intent, putting the man in the hospital.

  After that no one had dared challenge her and they had to bring in one of the top instructors in all the Rim Patrol to score her in the course. Jarra had actually enjoyed sparring with him and had learned a few new tricks. She had also taught him a few things, a lot of them the hard, painful way. But sometimes that was the only way to learn; Jarra knew that from her own experience.

  Reaching the entrance to the District Rim Patrol HQ, Jarra checked her uniform one last time and stepped over the threshold. At least no one should be challenging her this time.

  #

  District Commander Stephan Crusoe received an implant ping from his assistant telling him his new lieutenant had arrived in the admin area and she was being routed to his office. The youngest lieutenant he had ever been charged to command, Lieutenant Jarra Carsean put him in quite a quandary. She had scored one of the highest scores ever recorded in the accelerated Officer Candidate School for the Rim Patrol.

  The Navy brass considered the Rim Patrol OCS to be unworthy; they claimed nothing could be as tough as the Space Navy OCS. Some
of them would have gone so far as to not consider her accomplishments as noteworthy.

  Poppycock as far as he was concerned! The demands of the Rim Patrol training classes were every bit as high, if not higher, due to the accelerated nature of their training. It didn’t matter; she had stood out so far ahead of her classmates, he suspected she would have aced the Naval OCS as well if she had chosen to take it.

  Something had happened during the final cadet exercise that was sealed; sealed so tightly that even a District Commander couldn’t find the details. What little Crusoe had been able to find out from his contacts in the Imperial Headquarters had left as many questions as had given him answers. All he knew was that Cadet Carsean had come out of that incident with the Medal of Valor and a recommendation in her file that she be immediately promoted to Lieutenant upon graduation.

  Commander Crusoe wanted to put her on first watch on the bridge of his best cruiser, but he knew that would be a mistake. Too many of her shipmates would resent her very young age. Plus, District Governor Resault’s son thought he was the latest thing since nano sliced bread and he would expect the same position. The boy was lazy and stupid, or at least he had never applied himself, relying on his father’s money and influence. That was the only reason the boy had received his promotion to Lieutenant; it certainly wasn’t on merit.

  Crusoe also had strong suspicions that the new lieutenant’s pedigree was surely high enough that it would make even Governor Resault appear to be a minor politician, and if he was right, if it ever came out, it would look like favoritism on his part. But what a waste! She had the potential to be one of the best. He wondered how she’d avoided the trap that so many of the privileged fell into. Luckily, the last sending of equipment from the Emperor provided him with a ready-made solution to his problem. If I were a betting man, I’d bet the two are somehow connected, but I learned a long time ago not to bet on anything when it comes to the inner workings of the Empire.