The Awakening: Book 1 of Warner's World Read online

  THE AWAKENING

  Book 1 of Warner’s World

  DAVE O’CONNOR

  Version 1.0

  WARP DRIVE PUBLISHING

  Cover –Courtesy of ESA/Hubble - Artist's concept of the surface of Pluto

  Published by Panther Games Pty Ltd Trading as Warp Drive Publishing

  ABN66 008 609 541

  3 Valli St Chapman ACT 2611, Australia

  Copyright © Dave O’Connor 2015. All rights reserved.

  The moral right of the author has been asserted.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

  This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

  All characters and events in this publication, other than those clearly in the public domain, are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead is purely coincidental.

  For Joy - the greatest one in my life.

  Table of Contents

  Part 1 Deception

  Chapter 1. Josker 0300 hours, 20 April 2512

  Chapter 2. Hermes over Josker 0715, 20 April

  Chapter 3. Hermes in warp to Alpha Phi 0130, 21 April

  Chapter 4. Hermes 0900, 21 April

  Chapter 5. Hermes 1200, 21 April

  Chapter 6. Hermes 1300, 21 April

  Chapter 7. Hermes 1330, 21 April

  Chapter 8. Hermes 1430, 21 April

  Chapter 9. East of Tindel 1630, 21 April

  Chapter 10. Tindel 1800, 21 April

  Chapter 11. Tindel 1915, 21 April

  Chapter 12. Hermes 2100, 21 April.

  Chapter 13. Hermes 2200, 21 April.

  Chapter 14. Hermes 0600, 22 April.

  Chapter 15. Hermes 0800, 22 April.

  Chapter 16. Hermes 0900, 22 April.

  Chapter 17. Hermes 1000, 22 April.

  Part 2 Attraction

  Chapter 1. Hermes 1100, 22 April.

  Chapter 2. Klaster 1400, 22 April.

  Chapter 3. Klaster 1500, 22 April.

  Chapter 4. Hermes 1700, 22 April.

  Chapter 5. Klaster 1900, 22 April.

  Chapter 6. Shangri La 2000, 22 April.

  Chapter 7. Shangri La 0700, 23 April.

  Chapter 8. Shangri La 1200, 23 April.

  Chapter 9. Hermes 1700, 23 April.

  Chapter 10. Shangri La 2200, 23 April.

  Chapter 11. Shangri La 0800, 25 April.

  Chapter 12. Shangri La 0900, 25 April.

  Chapter 13. Hermes 1030, 25 April.

  Chapter 14. Hermes 1130, 25 April.

  Chapter 15. Hermes 1230, 25 April.

  Chapter 16. Shangri La 1405, 25 April.

  Chapter 17. Shangri La 2100, 25 April.

  Chapter 18. Hermes 0555, 25 April.

  Chapter 19. Hermes 0800, 25 April.

  Chapter 20. Hermes 1500, 25 April.

  Chapter 21. Hermes 1520, 25 April.

  Chapter 22. Hermes 1550, 25 April.

  Chapter 23. Hermes 1615, 25 April.

  Chapter 24. Hermes 1800, 25 April.

  Chapter 25. Hermes 1830, 25 April.

  Chapter 26. Hermes 1840, 25 April.

  Chapter 27. Whiskey 1 1850, 25 April.

  Chapter 28. Alpha Phi 1910, 25 April.

  Chapter 29. Alpha Phi 1930, 25 April.

  Chapter 30. Alpha Phi 2010, 25 April.

  Chapter 31. Hermes 2330, 25 April.

  Part 3 Union

  Chapter 1. Shangri La 0900, 9 May.

  Chapter 2. Shangri La 1330, 9 May.

  Chapter 3. Shangri La 0905, 10 May.

  Chapter 4. Hermes 1130, 10 May.

  Chapter 5. Hermes 1300, 10 May.

  Chapter 6. Hermes 1800, 10 May.

  Chapter 7. Hermes 1900, 10 May.

  Chapter 8. Hermes 0400, 11 May.

  Chapter 9. Hermes 0420, 11 May.

  Chapter 10. Niku 1100, 11 May.

  Chapter 11. Niku 1200, 11 May.

  Chapter 12. Niku 1515, 11 May.

  Chapter 13. Niku 1630, 11 May.

  Chapter 14. Niku 1900, 11 May.

  Chapter 15. Niku 2045, 11 May.

  Chapter 16. Hermes in warp to Klaster 0030, 12 May.

  Chapter 17. Hermes in warp to Klaster 0800, 12 May.

  Chapter 18. Hermes in warp to Klaster 1000, 12 May

  Chapter 19. Niku 1000, 14 May.

  Chapter 20. Niku 1000, 17 May.

  Part 4 Endeavour

  Chapter 1. Shangri La 1400, 20 May.

  Chapter 2. Shangri La 1600, 20 May.

  Chapter 3. Shangri La 2300, 20 May.

  Chapter 4. Shangri La 0600, 21 May.

  Chapter 5. Klaster 0800, 21 May.

  Chapter 6. Pulton 1 0900, 21 May.

  Chapter 7. Klaster 1105, 21 May.

  Chapter 8. Klaster Belt 1500, 21 May.

  Chapter 9. Shangri La 2100, 21 May.

  Chapter 10. Shangri La 0700, 22 May.

  Chapter 11. Hermes 1600, 22 May.

  Chapter 12. Klaster 2000, 22 May.

  Chapter 13. Shangri La 0600, 23 May.

  Chapter 14. Klaster 0730, 23 May.

  Chapter 15. Hermes 0830, 23 May.

  Chapter 16. Klaster 1130, 23 May.

  Chapter 17. Klaster 1230, 23 May.

  Chapter 18. Klaster 1300, 23 May.

  Chapter 19. Hermes 1400, 23 May.

  Chapter 20. Hermes 1800, 23 May.

  Chapter 21. Klaster 2130, 23 May.

  Chapter 22. Klaster 0800, 24 May.

  Chapter 23. Hermes 0830, 24 May.

  Chapter 24. Klaster 0930, 24 May.

  Part 5 Struggle

  Chapter 1. Hermes 1100, 24 May.

  Chapter 2. Hermes 1420, 24 May.

  Chapter 3. Hermes 1620, 24 May.

  Chapter 4. Klaster 1630, 24 May.

  Chapter 5. Klaster 1640, 24 May.

  Chapter 6. Pulton 1 1645, 24 May.

  Chapter 7. Pulton 1 1710, 24 May.

  Chapter 8. Pulton 1 1800, 24 May.

  Chapter 9. Pulton 1 1900, 24 May.

  Chapter 10. Pulton 1 2240, 24 May.

  Chapter 11. Hermes 0500, 25 May.

  Chapter 12. Pulton 1 0600, 25 May.

  Chapter 13. Pulton 1 0815, 25 May.

  Chapter 14. Hermes 1 0905, 25 May.

  Chapter 15. Pulton 1 0920, 25 May.

  Chapter 16. Pulton 1 1150, 25 May.

  Chapter 17. Pulton 1 1300, 25 May.

  Chapter 18. Pulton 1 1350, 25 May.

  Chapter 19. Hermes 1425, 25 May.

  Chapter 20. Pulton 1 1530, 25 May.

  Chapter 21. Hermes 1700, 25 May.

  Chapter 22. Pulton 1 1740, 25 May.

  Chapter 23. Pulton 1 1800, 25 May.

  Chapter 24. Pulton 1 2100, 25 May.

  Chapter 25. Pulton 1 0445, 26 May.

  Chapter 26. Pulton 1 0610, 26 May.

  Chapter 27. Pulton 1 0700, 26 May.

  Chapter 28. Pulton 1 0740, 26 May.

  Chapter 29. Pulton 1 0820, 26 May.

  Part 6 Liberation

  Chapter 1. Pulton 1 0930, 26 May.

  Chapter 2. Hermes 0935, 26 May.

  Chapter 3. Pulton 1 0946, 26 May.

  Chapter 4. Hermes 1000, 26 May.

  Chapter 5. Pulton 1 1020, 26 May.

  Chapter 6. Pulton 1 1040, 26 May.

&nb
sp; Chapter 7. Pulton 1 1400, 26 May.

  Chapter 8. Shangri La 2200, 26 May.

  Chapter 9. Shangri La 0700, 27 May.

  Chapter 10. Pulton 1 1100, 27 May.

  Chapter 11. Shangri La 0800, 28 May.

  Chapter 12. Pulton 1 0900, 28 May.

  Chapter 13. Wasp 1400, 28 May.

  Before You Go

  Acknowledgements

  Warner’s World Series

  Book 2 of Warner’s World

  Warnerpedia

  Extract

  Prologue. Hermes in warp to Chelora 1430, 20 April 2512

  Part 1 Resolve

  Chapter 1. Hermes 0955, 21 June 2512

  Chapter 2. Hermes 1000, 21 June

  Chapter 3. Hermes 0700, 22 June

  Chapter 4. Hermes 0800, 22 June

  Chapter 5. Hermes 0920, 22 June

  Part 1

  Deception

  Deception blinds, deception thwarts,

  Truth mangles and trust distorts.

  Minds in friction, tempers fraught

  Actions checked and plans abort.

  Chapter 1. Josker 0300 hours, 20 April 2512

  Commander (Cmdr) Dave Warner, the commander of the Federation Fleet Ship (FFS) Hermes, dived for cover as the pulse fire whacked by him. He had no clue as to who was firing. He had to work hard to crawl amongst the low scrub. He was a solid fellow. But crawl he must, to get away from where he went down. It was almost pitch black but with his thermals turned on he could make out the ground in front through his helmet’s visor.

  He did not have time to regret leading Alpha team from his marine detachment, nor the earlier decision to walk up this track out of the great rift valley and then head north in the lee of the ridge from where the fire was now coming. In fact there had been little choice as to the route for time had been the crucial factor. He had to get to Chengmu on this moon called Josker to meet his best friend, Art Simons, call sign Manger. Manger had been undercover in enemy territory now for three months. He had intel he needed to get out - so vital it would affect the whole civil war.

  “Contact right 300” hailed Sergeant (Sgt) Wyatt Haskins, the leader of Alpha team. Wyatt was on his knee firing his pulse rifle at the flashes. He did not stay firing long, diving back down amongst the scrub. The enemy pulse shots twanged around him as he too crawled to a new position off the track.

  “Jacko get that quanto (automatic pulse gun) firing” he commanded.

  Specialist Jacko Thomar was trying to catch his breath as he lay prone. He heard his team leader’s command and knew he was needed to suppress the enemy fire. He gulped some air, raised his head and tried to see the enemy flashes but couldn’t. He was in some dead ground east of the track. So he got to his knee and pulled the big automatic pulse gun into his shoulder, using his powerful biceps to steady the stock. He looked through the thermal sights and saw a cluster of three enemy firing from the convex slope to the east. He gave a series of short bursts from left to right at each of the flashes. They soon stopped.

  But he knew he now had to move. He pushed off with his back foot and charged forward and to the right a little further up the slope. From there he hoped he would be able to engage them from a prone position. ‘1, 2, 3 and down’ he said to himself. ‘Crawl away 1, 2, 3 and up’ But this time he chose to just raise his head. ‘Yes…got you. He extended the bipod and remained prone. Into the shoulder he pulled the quanto, looked through the sights, saw a figure now running at the crouch about 250m further left and fired a five round burst. ‘Pay dirt’.

  Dave heard the quanto firing. It reassured but he knew they couldn’t stay put. “Time to go Wyatt” he hailed over the comms channel. “We need to fall back to the gulley.” The gulley was a good two hundred metres back. It snaked along at the bottom of the re-entrant till it fell sharply into the rift valley from whence they had come.

  No answer. “Wyatt?”

  “He’s shot Sir” hailed Sgt Sue Chalker, intel specialist. She was crawling to where she had seen him last. The enemy had now opened up with their own automatic. It was raking the ground ahead not more than 20m away from her. She parted the tussocks of grass in front of her and found his boot on the other side. She pulled his leg but got no response. She crawled closer, managed to roll his body over and then wished she hadn’t. Wyatt’s head was a bloody mess. She swallowed hard. “He’s dead” she hailed.

  “Right we’re going to fire and move back down the track from where we came. Jacko, Mel, Akiri you’re Group 1” hailed Dave “covering fire now.” “Liz, Jason, Tara you’re Group 2, move back 20 now. Sue you’re with me. We’re three. We go next.”

  Jacko was now firing short bursts at the flashes that had increased in number up on the slope. Troopers Mel Shu and Akiri Tsonga were taking turns to pop up and fire their pulse rifles.

  Dave could now hear Group 2 firing. “Group 3 move.” He turned and ran at a crouch back down the track. Sue was already ahead, her legs pumping hard. She dived down to the west of the track as she passed Liz. Dave followed suit. They both got to their knees and began firing.

  “Group 1 move” hailed Dave.

  But a series of grenade explosions and the shouting from the top of the slope meant that Group 1 were not going to move far. There was a hail of automatic fire coming from the enemy’s right flank as a row of figures crested the slope and began firing bursts of pulse into Group 1.

  “Jacko?” hailed Dave but he got no reply. Dave bit his lip. He was about to rush back to him when he heard the tell-tale pop, pop of a grenade launcher. “Take cover.”

  He dove off to the left and fell down the slope. He rolled into another body, Sue Chalker’s, as the explosions went off back up on the track. He could hear a high pitch scream – probably Liz or Mel.

  “Group 2?” he hailed and paused for a reply. “Oh shit!” he swore as Sue was trying to claw her way south away from the danger. “Come on” she yelled. Dave pulled a grenade and tossed it back up toward where Group 1 had been. He waited till it went off and then scurried away after Sue. Sue was clutching her leg. “Are you hit?”

  “Yeh but it’s just a graze.” She had other things on her mind. She aimed further down towards the gulley. Dave was now catching up to her. He glanced back and saw a few figures standing on the track obviously examining their handiwork.

  In the gulley, they were in dead ground so they both stood upright. Dave took the lead. All plans of the rendezvous with Manger were now cancelled. ‘I hope you are OK, Art’ he said to himself. ‘Someone has betrayed us.’

  They had travelled a couple of kilometres following the gulley into the dry ravine that would eventually take them down into the great rift valley. The surface was loose rock and becoming steeper.

  “I need to rest, Sir” hailed Sue. Dave stopped and leaned into the slope catching his breath. Sue slid down onto her bum and dropped her backpack and released her webbing. “Can you help, Sir. It’s my leg.”

  Dave shuffled to her. It was nigh impossible to see any details with the thermals, so he switched them off and lifted his visor. He took out the jacket from his pack and used it to mask the light that he now shone from his helmet light onto Sue’s leg. The pulse shot had ripped the suit. It was a nasty graze and the exertion had opened it further.

  He took the dressing out of her webbing pouch and applied it to her leg. He was impressed she had got this far. He turned off the torch and helped her back on with her gear. They both took a swig of water from the tubes that came up through the inside of their suits.

  It was nearly 0400 and he had to check in. He switched channels. “Hermes this is Sunray(the commander)” he hailed.

  “Sir this is Ivan” hailed Second Lieutenant (2nd Lt) Ivan Kiralenko, the Hermes’ Comms Officer.

  “We’ve been ambushed. Only me and Chalker left. Chalker’s wounded. Aborting mission. Need extraction from LZ (landing zone) Bravo in 2 hours. Acknowledge.”

  “Acknowledged. WILCO (will comply)” responded Ivan, his voice now flat.
/>   “Come on Sue, we need to get moving.”

  They reached the great flood plain along the floor of the rift valley ahead of his estimate. It had been a long, long time since this valley floor had seen a flood but even so the dry smell of dirt was a pleasant relief from the sweat. Dave checked his console and confirmed his position. Yes this was LZ Bravo.

  Sue released her pack and collapsed beside Dave. She was exhausted. They had not slept for 36 hours.

  “We’ve got 40 minutes, Sue. Get some kip. I’ll take the watch.”

  “Thanks” was all she uttered. She let her head rest on her pack and was asleep in two minutes.

  ‘How the fuck did this happen?’ Dave asked himself. His brain was too tired to continue the interrogation, so he let the matter lie. He began a practice of scanning across his assigned arc that was ingrained from his days in Special Forces. As his eyes moved to the rhythm of the pattern he recalled waiting at the spaceport in New Hammersley back in January.

  ‘Had it only been that long?’ Amy, his wife had been there with the kids to see him off. Her beautiful face was there right in front of him. The same image he now saw each night as he went to bed. There would be no update on that image since the big nuclear flash wiped it off the face of New Hammersley.

  He struggled to swallow and felt the emotion rising as it did each night. He felt the guilt for having put her and the kids in harm’s way. Yes he knew it was a surprise attack. Yes he knew that he could have done nothing about it because he was out on a mission. But it did not assuage his guilt nor lessen the pain of losing them. WHY?

  They were innocents. How could the Alliance have done this? Why are we fighting this stupid civil war? Why did they have to suffer? And why have I survived?

  “Alpha Sunray this is Whisky 1” hailed Corporal (Cpl) Parinya Puket, the pilot of the warthog shuttle “we are inbound LZ Bravo. ETA (estimated time of arrival) in 2.”

  “Roger that. All clear. Get us out of here.”

  Chapter 2. Hermes over Josker 0715, 20 April

  “How many do we have to lose before you realise?” argued First Lieutenant (1st Lt) Rihan Kabel, Executive Officer (XO) of the Federation Fleet Ship Hermes. “Haskins and his team are all dead back there and it’s all down to Manger.”