Storm Clouds, page 1
part #1 of The Guild Wars Series
Storm Clouds
Book One of The Guild Wars
By
Chris Kennedy & Mark Wandrey
PUBLISHED BY: Seventh Seal Press
Copyright © 2019 Chris Kennedy & Mark Wandrey
All Rights Reserved
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Get the free Four Horsemen prelude story “Gateway to Union”
and discover other titles by Mark Wandrey at:
http://worldmaker.us/
* * * * *
Get the free Four Horsemen prelude story “Shattered Crucible”
and discover other titles by Chris Kennedy at:
http://chriskennedypublishing.com/
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Take your VOWS and join the Merc Guild on Facebook!
Meet us at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/536506813392912/
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Cover Design by Brenda Mihalko
Original Art by Ricky Ryan
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License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only and may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
This book is a work of fiction, and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are products of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.
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Dedication
To our wives, who put up with an awful lot so we can have fun doing what we do.
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Contents
Dedication
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Epilogue
About Chris Kennedy
About Mark Wandrey
Titles by Chris Kennedy
Titles by Mark Wandrey
Connect with Chris Kennedy Online
Connect with Mark Wandrey Online
Excerpt from Book One of the Salvage Title Trilogy:
Excerpt from Book One of the Earth Song Cycle:
Excerpt from Book One of The Psyche of War:
Excerpt from Book One of the Revelations Cycle:
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Prologue
Medical, EMS Pegasus, Earth Orbit
The ceremony on Pegasus’s gravity deck went on for over two hours. Alexis was forced to admit, in hindsight, it was probably two hours too long. Broadcast to the entire world, the ceremony eulogized the Human mercs lost in what they’d come to call the Omega War. She’d been about to talk about the innocent civilian losses when she began to lose focus.
The gravity decks were only set at one-quarter, yet she still almost fell. Nigel appeared at her side as if he’d teleported, taking her elbow and gently lowering her to a chair.
“Colonel Cromwell is tired,” he’d explained. “She’s not completely recovered from her injuries. Let me make a couple of comments in her place.”
To her surprise, he used the notes she had on the lectern and flawlessly made them his own. His words addressing the loss of civilian life were poignant and touching. As soon as it was over, a medical team was waiting for her.
“Come on,” she said. “This isn’t necessary.”
“Shut up,” Nigel snapped.
Alexis was so surprised she actually did what he said.
A large part of Pegasus’s crew had been killed in battle, so she didn’t recognize the physician, but his uniform identified him as Dr. Tanner. The medical bay was nearly empty; the ship’s wounded had been evacuated to advanced medical facilities on Earth after the truce. A dozen medical techs were waiting for her when she entered.
“Entropy!” she cried. “I just got dizzy!”
“With all due respect, Colonel,” Dr. Tanner said, “let me make that determination.”
She clamped her jaw shut and ground her teeth. They examined her as Nigel hovered. Tanner asked a number of questions, most of which he likely already knew the answers to. She was used to it as an evaluation tool. Finally, he was done.
“Your injuries are healing as expected,” Tanner explained. “You’re pushing a bit too hard, but no worse than most people in your position.”
“So why did I almost faint?”
“How did your mother’s pregnancy proceed?” he asked. “Those files aren’t available to me.”
“She carried us to term,” Alexis said. “We were born almost exactly on our due date.”
“We?” Nigel said. “I didn’t know you had any siblings.”
“One,” Alexis said. “My sister. She died…” Alexis paused. It wasn’t time to explain that to Nigel. “She died some time ago.”
“I’m sorry,” Nigel said. “Were you close?”
“Most twins are,” Alexis said.
“Twins?” he asked, shaking his head. “Wow.”
Alexis looked at the doctor who gave an imperceptible wink and a nod. Son of a bitch. “Nigel is the father,” she said, “tell him.”
“Tell me what?” Nigel demanded, not following.
“Colonel Cromwell is pregnant with twins.” The doctor looked around at a strange sound. “Quick! Someone pick Colonel Shirazi off the floor!”
Alexis couldn’t figure out if he was overwhelmed by shock or pride. Whatever it was, the doctor eventually gave him a light tranquilizer and sent him to his quarters so he could talk to her.
“I’m not an obstetrician,” Tanner admitted.
“What can you tell me?”
“The genetic scan indicated they’re fraternal twins. You were identical, correct?” She nodded. “Twins run in your family?”
“Mother said her grandmother had twins, but her mother only had the one.”
“Fraternal twins are genetic, and they can skip generations,” Tanner acknowledged. “We still don’t know what causes identical twins, though. Do you want to know their sexes?”
She considered for a full second before nodding. Sure, not knowing had a certain magic to it. However, Alexis Cromwell wasn’t one to like magical moments, because you weren’t always on the giving side of the magic.
“You’ve got a full house. One boy, one girl. Both have the same marker as you for white hair, since you never had the chromosome fixed. However, it might not express in the male. Basically, it all looks good.” She smiled and nodded. “So, by the numbers. Your pregnancy is going to be a little more complicated, but mostly in the last trimester. Those problems, however, will be mitigated by the lower gravity. As long as you don’t go for a ride with a SalSha, there’s no additional risk. Nutrition is more important, so I’m prescribing supplements and exercise.”
Alexis considered how her pregnancy would affect her career. If she went back to New Warsaw now, she’d probably never be able to leave. She foresaw complicated months ahead. The Mercenary Guild was likely to implode from what had happened. Based on some research on the GalNet, the Peacemakers had just done something unprecedented, too—they’d interposed themselves into the internal politics of another guild.
“Thanks, Doc,” she said. “I need to get back to my quarters now.”
“As long as you don’t try to stand around for hours at a time, fine.” He handed her a computer chip. “Here’s a schedule of workouts for you; it will help you evaluate when you’ll be able to handle longer times standing and under what conditions.”
She took it, got dressed, and returned to her quarters. Once there, she prepared some communications and orders, then sent them to the frigate Tyrfing which would be jumping to New Warsaw in a few hours. It included some revised orders and detached Dr. Ramirez to return with other materials to Earth. He could serve as her personal physician while pregnant. He was a fully trained obstetrician, along with a half-dozen other specialties.
With that issue dealt with, she began thinking about how she’d handle Nigel. It would be an interesting meeting.
* * * * *
Chapter One
Alexis’ Private Conference Room, EMS Pegasus, Earth Orbit
“I’m not going back to Prime Base,” Alexis Cromwell announced to the assembled Four Horsemen leaders.
“You’re not?” Sansar Enkh asked. The short Mongolian woman raised an eyebrow. “But I thought you wanted to get back home and start putting everything back together again.”
Alexis nodded. “I do, and that is what I thought I wanted to do a week ago when the Peacemakers ended our war with the Merc Guild, but now I realize that going home is shortsighted; there is too much to do galaxy-wide. I have competent administrators who can easily handle the Hussars’ operations and a new second in command to lead our forces. I am needed for other tasks.”
“Well, there certainly is a lot to do here on Earth,” Jim Cartwright, the head of Cartwright’s Cavaliers, noted. “There are tens of thousands of aliens still on
“You’re right,” Alexis said, “and I’m sure you’ll do well putting things back to rights.”
“What?” Jim sputtered. “Me? Run the government? Sure, I have some ideas, but—”
“We don’t expect you to run the government,” Alexis said quickly. “We just need you to help create a stabilizing situation. If the Republic can’t be salvaged, maybe we need something better? And with Sansar to help you, I’m sure you’ll be fine. I’ve already sent back to Prime Base to have one of our manufactories brought here to help with the rebuilding.”
Sansar smiled. “I figured it would be up to us to put Earth back together again. Having the manufactory will be invaluable.”
“Rebuild the whole government?” Jim asked. “Just us? How are we going to do that? I barely have any troops left.” Jim looked down and shook his head. “We’re all but gone.”
“True,” Sansar said. “However, the Golden Horde has a number of troops left that can be used, and between us, I’m sure we can strong-arm some of the other mercenary companies and get them to go along with us. If we lead, they will follow. After the last few months, it’s something they’ve gotten very used to.”
“I notice that my name wasn’t mentioned,” the fourth member of the group, Nigel Shirazi of Asbaran Solutions, noted. “Are my services no longer required?”
Alexis chuckled. “Isn’t he cute when he gets all riled up?” she asked, looking at Sansar, who smiled back at her. She turned back to Nigel. “Your services are indeed required. You’re coming with me to Capital Planet to talk to the Merc Guild.”
“That isn’t happening,” Nigel said, straightening his shoulders.
“What?” Sansar asked. “You’re not going to Capital Planet?”
“No, I am going to Capital Planet,” Nigel replied. “Someone needs to bring our grievances to the Merc Guild Council and demand reparations; what I’m saying is that she”—his eyes darted to Alexis—“is most definitely not going. Not in her condition.”
Alexis’ eyebrows both rose. “My condition?”
The tone of Alexis’ voice caused Sansar to cringe slightly. Careful, Nigel.
It was obvious Nigel could tell he was walking on thin ice, but he pressed on, looking around the room for support. “Yes, your condition. The doctors have been very specific. Carrying twins is a high-risk pregnancy without any other factors intruding. And now you want to go to Capital Planet like that—away from the doctors here? I won’t allow it.”
“Twins?” Jim said incredulously. “I didn’t know…”
“Neither did I,” Sansar added, looking back and forth between Nigel and Alexis. “I guess double congratulations are due then, to both of you.”
“Thank you,” Alexis replied. “I wasn’t too surprised; they run in my family. However, just because I’m pregnant—even with twins—doesn’t mean that I can just step aside for the time being. The galaxy—and especially the Merc Guild—is hardly going to wait for me to have them.”
“As the father, I forbid it,” Nigel said. He glanced over at the slight intake of breath from Sansar.
“And as the person carrying them, and on whose ship you are currently sitting, I’m curious as to how you’re going to stop me. You have one busted up ship, whereas I have humanity’s only fleet of ships. How is that going to work, exactly?”
Nigel took a deep breath. “Over my—”
“Let’s all take a second,” Sansar interrupted, “before any of us says anything they might regret later.” She stared at Nigel for a few seconds as if challenging him to say anything else, but he sighed and motioned for her to continue. Jim popped a stick of chewing gum into his mouth to observe the fireworks.
“Okay,” Sansar said. “So, here’s the way I see it: Jim and I need to stay here to fix the issues on Earth. Between us, we are familiar with both the eastern and western hemispheres in ways that Nigel and Alexis aren’t. That works out to send you two to Capital Planet.” She looked at Nigel. “You bring experience in ground assault.” Her eyes shifted to Alexis. “And you bring a knowledge of space combat better than any other Human. You are a perfect team to go before the Merc Guild.”
Sansar raised a hand when Nigel started to speak. “Now, before you say she isn’t going again—we are well aware of your position in the matter—let’s take a look at the facts. First, Alexis isn’t due for many months, so I doubt there are any travel restrictions on her yet. Additionally, suitable health care professionals can be brought along, so that isn’t an issue.”
“Dr. Ramirez from Prime Base is coming with the manufactory,” Alexis said. “When he found out I was pregnant, he elected himself my personal physician.” She shrugged. “Face it, if you go, I’m going, too.”
“Fine,” Nigel said. “Then I won’t go.”
“That…isn’t an option, either, I’m afraid,” Sansar replied. “We just got some intel today that I wanted to share with you. All the Merc Guild forces with transport capacity have been called out of system.”
“What?” Jim asked, happy to be involved in the conversation again. “Where are they going?”
“A variety of places, it seems,” Sansar said, tapping on her slate. “The ones that are under contract to the Guild itself have been called back to Capital Planet, and most of the non-aligned units have been called back to their home planets.”
“Do you have any idea why?” Alexis asked.
Sansar shook her head. “Apparently, something happened at the Merc Guild headquarters, but no one’s saying what. They are all just recalling their forces.”
“Do you suppose someone tried to depose Leeto?” Nigel asked. “Wasn’t that who was in charge there?”
“No, she passed away suddenly—no one knows why. There was a replacement for her, a Veetanho named Seezo. Something happened at the last council meeting, but whatever it was, it’s been locked down tighter than anything I’ve ever seen.”
“If there’s movement on the council, we need to have someone there to stick up for our rights,” Jim said.
Nigel nodded. “And that person is me.”
“And me,” Alexis added. “And before you say another word about my condition, I think it’s important to remember two points. First, you know nothing, or almost nothing, about space combat. Let’s face it, you aren’t qualified to discuss any sort of limitations that may come up. Secondly—and perhaps more importantly—you get fired up too easily. I love you—I don’t know why—but you need someone there who can help you stay in control of yourself…especially when dealing with aliens.”
“Hey! I’ve done well with the Lumar I’ve hired!” Nigel exclaimed.
“Yes, you have,” Alexis said. She raised an eyebrow. “How many MinSha have you hired? Any Goka?” She gave him a little smile. “Not only have I hired both of them, I know how they think. You need someone with more experience dealing with aliens, and that person’s me. Face it, Nigel, you’re going to Capital Planet…and I’m going with you.”
“An emergency meeting of the Merc Guild has been called for three weeks from now,” Sansar said. “If you hurry, you ought to just make it.”
* * *
Sansar left the meeting with a feeling of happiness for her friend, Alexis, and a sense of confusion. Her vision of Alexis with Nigel’s son had been one of the strongest in her life. Yet, Alexis wasn’t pregnant with one child, but two. Her visions either came true or they didn’t. Which one was this? It was an interesting question.
