ORSON T BADGER
Freedom comes at a price . . . always!
The EXODUS Series
1. Leaving Home
2. Reprisal
3. Moonbreak
4. Ragtags
5. Sandrats of Azaa (Book 5 on sale in April)
EXODUS
Moonbreak
Orson T. Badger
With a sudden crash the platform dipped and was thrust to one side. Captain Amos Trankwell spread his legs for balance and held up his fist. He tapped at a keypad on one arm and the platform stopped its descent. He gripped the guard rail on the still swaying lift and peered over the edge into the blackness of the shaft. The platform had hit something, knocking it askew. He saw nothing. The echo of the falling rock still clung to the cold vertical shaft and he looked up at his troops. “What the hell was that?” He asked over his helmet intercom. He scanned his team of eleven men and women outfitted in light combat armor with weapons locked and loaded standing on the still swaying platform. Blank helmeted faces stared back at him.
“Platform must have swayed into the wall knocking some debris loose.” One of the troops responded into Amos’ earbud.
Amos grunted. Sounded like a landslide. He lowered his fist and gave the signal to continue the descent. The platform continued to plummet into the black abyss. He nodded his head trying to reassure the team. How difficult can it be to confront a bunch of half-starved, weak, weaponless, prisoners? Reason told him this op would be a cake-walk, but years of combat experience stirred a warning deep inside that not all was as it seemed.
He checked the digital readout on his 12mm Longarm automatic for the hundredth time. The blue digital display shone dimly in the dark telling him it was ready for action. He felt the smooth barrel’s reassuring deadly weight in his gloved hand. Each of his team members was equipped with the same, including five spare magazines with a hundred full-metal-jacketed rounds each, and six pellet grenades. A weak, starving, weaponless, rabble won’t stand a chance.
Restless, Amos shifted his weight from one foot to the other until he saw a dim glow along the shaft walls. He glanced over the side, Bottom at last. He turned to his team and gestured the ready signal and felt the platform bump to a rest.
Each trooper aimed their Longarm into the dim cavern. Amos consulted a digital map on his helmets HUD or Heads Up Display. The main mining cavern stretched out before them punctuated with a grid of stone pillar supports. There was no sign of life. The cavern was completely empty; the dark rock walls filled with geological folds and wrinkles created ominous looking shadows. A glance at the map the warden provided, warned Amos that it wasn’t going to be very useful.
“Looks like someone’s been doing some interior design.” One of the troops quipped.
Indeed, the entire cavern appeared radically altered from the map he’d been given. There were numerous tunnels branching off the main cavern, not shown on the map. Amos swore. He’d told Dev that routine inspections would allow them to keep current maps for just such an occasion. His counsel had fallen on the deaf sleazy ears of the mine’s warden. Amos swore again and signaled to his troops to fan out. The option … or rather order from Dev, to forgo encumbering the troops with costly bio-detection equipment now seemed like the epitome of myopic bureaucratic decision making. Amos cursed the warden and stepped off the platform onto the hard cavern floor and led his poorly prepared troops into a trap.
Find out what happens next. Go to Amazon
EXODUS
1 Leaving Home
Orson T. Badger
At one time the large five story building at the opposite end of town must have been the crown jewel of the small city. Now, in the dim light cast by the moon it looked like an ominous ruin. Where once there had been tinted glass and decorative cladding, now shattered glass-rimmed sockets stared out and cracked stone sloughed off like decaying skin.
David and Cindy had snuck out of town and back to the relative safety and cover of the countryside. They traveled far enough away from the buildings to keep from being spotted and made their way around to the opposite side of town where they now confronted the ruinous structure.
“Only a little further.” David whispered over his shoulder as he crawled through the tall weeds.
The leaves and blades of grass brushed across her face. The smell of dead things was strong as Cindy followed David’s form. He came to a stop and Cindy bumped into him. What now? She crawled to one side and came up next to him. David stopped her and pointed. The edge of a large cracked and broken parking lot dotted with a few rusty vehicles separated them from their destination. Across the parking lot two compliance minions stood talking.
Cindy rolled over onto her back and stared up at the night sky. Tears threatened but she fought them off and avoided nibbling her mud covered finger. “How do we get past them?”
“I’m thinking.” David lay watching the two minions yucking it up.
“Need a diversion of some kind.” She whispered.
“I know.” He sighed.
What a difference a day made. Only a day ago Cindy led a relatively happy life—at least as much as one could, living under threat of a tyrannical government—now her knees and hands were raw from all the crawling they’d done throughout the night. Her clothing stuck to her skin. Mud, dirt, and other organic debris clung to her face, hands, and clothes. She frowned, wiped at a patch of mud plastered on her cheek. If we’re caught… She swallowed and shuddered, thinking about the night before. Linn’s face and body. Cindy shivered, she vowed to fight rather than submit.
“I’ve got an idea.” David leaned over next to her ear. “I’ll create a diversion. When the minions are drawn away, run to the building…get to the roof.”
“That’s your idea?” Cindy hissed. “What about you? They’ll catch you.”
David pressed his lips together in a frown. “I don’t plan on getting caught.”
Cindy wondered what happened in the past two days. David rarely displayed such bravado. She liked this hint of confidence…but she wasn’t willing to allow him to do anything foolish. She didn’t marry David for his athletic ability or strength. “Think of something else.”
David looked up at the moon. “There isn’t time. Whatever’s going to happen, it’ll be soon. We need to act now.”
“Maybe we can sneak across to the building without them seeing us. It’s dark enough. There are a few cars and weeds out there we can hide behind.”
David surveyed the lot. “Not enough. They probably have motion sensors. The minute we move into the open we’re dead.”
Cindy closed her eyes and pushed the tears away. “David…”
“Don’t worry about me. I’ll sneak back when they’re occupied and meet you on the roof.”
He turned and crawled away. She hoped his new courage didn’t get him killed. A heaving sob of emotion threatened to explode in her chest but she clenched her teeth and forced herself to hold it together. Not now. Don’t fall to pieces. Cindy crept to the edge of the concrete. Kept behind the growth of weeds and watched the two minions.
After five minutes of tense silence she heard a whacking sound as if someone was smacking a tree with a stick behind her. Then she heard David’s familiar voice yelp. The two minions raised their guns, crouched, and ran toward the edge of the lot. They jumped into the tall weeds and were gone. Cindy rose to her feet and began walking toward the building feeling her legs drag. She turned and looked at the spot where the minions had gone and tried to move faster. After a few more steps blood returned to her limbs and she began to run toward the building. The sound of her steps was like thunder claps to her ears. Out in the field the yelling and whacking ceased. She reached the building and heard a new sound. A muted whine came from somewhere in the sky off to her right and then another sound split the night causing her stomach to leap into her throat. Boots, pounding on the ground, headed her way. A man giving directional orders was coming toward her.
She looked back where David had been making sounds. He needs me…shouldn’t have let him do this. Cindy turned around and headed back to the edge of the parking lot when five compliance minions rounded the corner. She whispered out-of-character profanity, turned and vaulted through a window opening and saw a stairway off to her right. She ran and clambered up the debris littered steps to the second floor. The low whine became louder. It came from above and to her right. She paused a moment to catch her breath and heard boots running across the floor below. She bolted up the stairs in twos, not stopping to look back. The pounding boots began to climb the steps. Panic gripped her throat, breathing became ragged, and she pumped her legs harder. Third floor. She grabbed the dusty handrail and used her momentum to swing around it and launch up the next flight. The tromping boots sounded closer. She reached deep inside and tried to climb faster but her legs began to scream at her and her chest hurt. Fourth floor.
Above her the whine became loud, the building vibrated, and then she heard shots fired from below. The compliance patrol shouted. She passed the fifth floor, legs pumping hard and forced herself up the last steps, slammed the door hanging ajar aside, and ran onto the roof.
A large velvet black vehicle hovered over the building. Men hung from opening on its sides with guns aimed down at the roof. For a split second she panicked. Wait…it’s not compliance. She waved her arms.
The first of her pursuers burst out onto the roof, gun aimed at her. A flash from above and an explosion, like a puff of wind, engulfed the minions emerging onto the roof. Cindy looked back. Her pursuers stood in a cloud of blue smoke. They dropped their guns to the ground and struggled to remove masked helmets. Within seconds they all fell to the deck.
David heard minions thrashing through the tall weeds, cursing, not far behind him. He had doubled back and now confronted the parking lot’s wide expanse. Did the distance to the building increase? His eye caught movement from the left…more minions ran toward the building from down the street. A few dropped to a squat and began to fire at the black vehicle hovering over the building’s roof top. Now or never!
David bolted from all fours and hit the hard surface at a run. He heard gunshots and weaved back and forth. I’m a dead man! He dodged behind a rusted car and heard the ratta-tat-tat of bullets striking its rusty metal carcass. His heart pounded and he sucked air in quick shallow breaths.
Cindy watched the black craft descend as bullets pinged off its armor. As more minions approached the roof door, she saw them drop to the ground. The craft pounded the rooftop with thrust causing it to vibrate under her feet. She moved to a parapet wall, away from the craft’s blast and peered over the edge. David dashed out of the weeds followed by two minions on his heels firing their weapons. Fear for David burst from her throat as she saw him hunker behind a rusty car.
“DAVID!”
David glanced up. “GET DOWN!”
The two minions looked up at her and fired. The bullets struck the broken stone facade and she ducked. Disturbed air whizzed past her head.
Thankful for Cindy’s distraction, David crouched and ran to the next rusty car. David measured the distance to the building from behind the car. Still too far to go… Bullets tore up the pavement to his left. More minions arrived at the edge of the parking lot. He saw them drop to the ground and fire in his direction.
Cindy lay with her back against the parapet hearing and feeling bullets tear up the other side. She rolled over and crawled away from the wall. Bits of broken stone pelted her. The black craft had settled to the rooftop and several soldiers dressed in dark blue ran toward her.
“Help him.” She said, pointing over the wall.
They ran toward the building edge crouched with guns ready. One of them turned toward her and shouted.
“Get on.” He waved at the craft.
“You’ve gotta save David!” She yelled back, tears streaming down her face.
The men from the craft took up positions along the wall. The gunshots from below had ceased hitting the side of the building. She still heard them tearing apart the cars and concrete below.
Sharp little flecks of concrete kept hitting him in the face and left side as the patrol fired on his position. David scooted to the far side of the car. He felt it vibrate with bullets from another direction. He looked above, couldn’t see Cindy or the black craft anymore. Summoning his courage he tensed his leg muscles. This is it…probably gonna die. David ran. Bullets whizzed close and he prayed for more speed.
Find out what happens next in
Exodus: Leaving Home. Amazon.com
EXODUS
2 Reprisal
Orson T. Badger
Helmsman Burkhardt tapped keys on the helm display. “Initiating neutrino sails, now.” He said to Miah.
COMMAND CANNOT BE INITIATED.
His display flashed.
N-SAIL ACTIVATION COUNTERMANDED BY DIRECTIVE FOUR.
“Directive Four?” Miah asked looking over his shoulder. “What the hell is Directive Four?”
The Helmsman shrugged. “I don’t know.”
Miah hissed in his ear. “Find out.”
He turned toward her. “I’ve been the helmsman for a long time, I’ve never heard of Directive Four.”
Miah swore again. “Alicia, bring the captain here.”
“Alicia went to where Captain Hezekiah was still being guarded, held her gun with one hand and grabbed him by the other. “Get up Captain, the Captain wants to see ya.”
Hezekiah stood before Miah with a firm look of determination on his face, the colored light displays reflected off his bald head as she leaned close to him. “Countermand Directive Four.”
“I don’t know what Directive Four is.” He said.
Miah brought her gun up to his temple. “Sure ‘bout that?”
“Miah, I have no idea what it is. Elias programmed the ship’s computer, I’m just the Captain.”
Miah placed the tip of the muzzle against Hezekiah’s head, pushed his face to the side. Rage contorted her face. “If you’re lying to me…”
Captain Hezekiah pulled his head away from the muzzle, brought his head close to Miah and stared at her. “What? You want to shoot me? Even if I knew how to countermand it, I wouldn’t do it.” Miah drew back from the Captain’s display of courage. “Go ahead, do your worst, demon witch.” He pulled his head away and stood upright with one hand behind his back and the wounded hand held close to his breast.
The others on the bridge sat or stood in awed silence at Captain Hezekiah’s heroic posture and brave words.
Miah slunk from his regal stance. A sneer spread on her lips and she purred, “Captain…sooo braaave.” She turned toward the crew. “Burkhardt, get over here!”
Burkhardt’s face paled and he trembled as he rose to his feet. Unsteady, he walked over to her. Hezekiah fixed a sad look upon his former officer. His eyes full of pity seemed to say, “You’ve no idea what you’ve gotten yourself into.”
Miah faced Burkhardt. “Hold up your hand.” He did so and Miah slapped her Falcon DDK in his palm. “Prove your loyalty.” She nodded at Hezekiah. “Kill him.”
Burkhardt’s eyes grew wide and the gun in his hand shook uncontrollably. He looked at her, pleading. “I…can’t…”
Miah swung around and gestured to Alicia. “Alicia, shoot the Helmsman in ten seconds if he doesn’t comply.” Miah walked back to the captain’s chair, sat, and threw her legs across the armrest. “One…” She began counting.
Alicia walked over and placed her gun up against Burkhardt’s head. “Do it.” She hissed
Beads of sweat popped out on Burkhardt’s forehead, he trembled and tried to speak.
“…Two…”
He looked at his former commanding officer.
“…Three…”
Hezekiah gazed back with a look of peace.
“…Four…”
“He’s just an old man…” Burkhardt turned toward Miah.
“…Five…”
“What possible harm can he do?”
“…Six…”
“We have the ship…let’s go…”
“…Seven…”
“…We’ll figure something out.” Burkhardt pleaded looking at Miah.
She stared back emotionless and continued the count. “…eight…”
He raised the gun to Hezekiah’s head.
“…Nine…” Miah smiled. “Be ready Alicia.”
Find out what happens next in Exodus: Reprisal
Go to Amazon.com
EXODUS
3 Moonbreak
Orson T. Badger
With a sudden crash the platform dipped and was thrust to one side. Captain Amos Trankwell spread his legs for balance and held up his fist. He tapped at a keypad on one arm and the platform stopped its descent. He gripped the guard rail on the still swaying lift and peered over the edge into the blackness of the shaft. The platform had hit something, knocking it askew. He saw nothing. The echo of the falling rock still clung to the cold vertical shaft and he looked up at his troops. “What the hell was that?” He asked over his helmet intercom. He scanned his team of eleven men and women outfitted in light combat armor with weapons locked and loaded standing on the still swaying platform. Blank helmeted faces stared back at him.
“Platform must have swayed into the wall knocking some debris loose.” One of the troops responded into Amos’ earbud.
Amos grunted. Sounded like a landslide. He lowered his fist and gave the signal to continue the descent. The platform continued to plummet into the black abyss. He nodded his head trying to reassure the team. How difficult can it be to confront a bunch of half-starved, weak, weaponless, prisoners? Reason told him this op would be a cake-walk, but years of combat experience stirred a warning deep inside that not all was as it seemed.
He checked the digital readout on his 12mm Longarm automatic for the hundredth time. The blue digital display shone dimly in the dark telling him it was ready for action. He felt the smooth barrel’s reassuring deadly weight in his gloved hand. Each of his team members was equipped with the same, including five spare magazines with a hundred full-metal-jacketed rounds each, and six pellet grenades. A weak, starving, weaponless, rabble won’t stand a chance.
Restless, Amos shifted his weight from one foot to the other until he saw a dim glow along the shaft walls. He glanced over the side, Bottom at last. He turned to his team and gestured the ready signal and felt the platform bump to a rest.
Each trooper aimed their Longarm into the dim cavern. Amos consulted a digital map on his helmets HUD or Heads Up Display. The main mining cavern stretched out before them punctuated with a grid of stone pillar supports. There was no sign of life. The cavern was completely empty; the dark rock walls filled with geological folds and wrinkles created ominous looking shadows. A glance at the map the warden provided, warned Amos that it wasn’t going to be very useful.
“Looks like someone’s been doing some interior design.” One of the troops quipped.
Indeed, the entire cavern appeared radically altered from the map he’d been given. There were numerous tunnels branching off the main cavern, not shown on the map. Amos swore. He’d told Dev that routine inspections would allow them to keep current maps for just such an occasion. His counsel had fallen on the deaf sleazy ears of the mine’s warden. Amos swore again and signaled to his troops to fan out. The option … or rather order from Dev, to forgo encumbering the troops with costly bio-detection equipment now seemed like the epitome of myopic bureaucratic decision making. Amos cursed the warden and stepped off the platform onto the hard cavern floor and led his poorly prepared troops into a trap.
Find out what happens next in Exodus Moonbreak. Go to Amazon.com
Copyright 2012 Orson T Badger All rights reserved