Chaos Tactics (The Reckless Chronicles Book 1) Read online

  Chaos Tactics

  (The Reckless Chronicles)

  By Trent Falls

  Copyright © Trent Falls 2015

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either a product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual people living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book 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.

  Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Prologue

  Early in the twenty-first century something remarkable happened.

  The people of Earth awoke to discover that over 30,000,000 humans had emigrated to the stars aboard five massive starships. Built in secrecy in the northern area of the Tarim Basin in China, the massive ark-like star cruisers loaded their human passengers and their cargo and left without much ceremony. What was truly astonishing about this incident was the fact that the vast majority of the human population was unaware that mankind was even close to achieving such a feat, of creating vessels capable of traveling faster than light. This was confirmed five years after as the departing group of humans made one quick stop to broadcast their achievement from the nearest solar system, Proxima Centauri.

  The emigrants were the forefathers of the Xen, a now highly-evolved society within the Milky Way galaxy. The Xen name is a simplified derivative of “Xi’an”, one of the oldest cities in China and the end of the ancient Silk Road. While the origin of the Xen exodus was in northern China, the first Xen pilgrims were quite ethnically and socially diverse. They were Chinese, Uyghur, Americans, Latinos, Russians, Canadians, rich industrialists, doctors, teachers, children, students, police officers, bakers, and farmers. There were also rumors that some were common criminals, humans who felt compelled to not only leave their nations of origin but to also to turn over new leaves to create new lives. They ranged from a broad spectrum of people from all over the planet. Earth, by then, was a quite globalized society. While many of the cultural practices of the Xen mirrored earlier Chinese culture their roots were also vast, comprised of all corners of humanity on Earth. The Xen governing system itself became a modern extension of Socialist and Communist principles carried out by the Chinese government at the time of the Xen’s departure from Earth. It is speculated that, eventually, the Sino element of the interstellar pilgrims became the dominant part of the society.

  Earth, by that time, had become a very tumultuous place. Energy had become scarce, the planet was warming, and governments were shaken or toppled. The opportunity to leave the Earth and start new somewhere else seemed to be a desirable option. Indeed many scholars theorized that this was why so many from all walks of life joined the Xen “cult” – to become part of that communal experience of exodus.

  No one was sure how or why the Xen were able to develop warp technology when the rest of the world was nowhere near solving the many problems of faster-than-light travel. As many of the original Xen pilgrims felt “compelled” to go to the Tarim Basin to depart the Earth, some believe that this warp technology was bestowed on a select few in Chinese government or on the Xen themselves by an unknown extraterrestrial intelligence. Others who believed the early Xen to be a cult thought that the intelligent people drawn to their ranks were either coerced or brainwashed in some way. Whatever the case, the Xen left their home world for, in their words, “The promise of a better life and a better society elsewhere in the heavens.”

  It would take the remaining human population on Earth nearly fifty years to duplicate the feat of traveling faster than light.

  Following a brief period of exploration, the new Terran explorers would meet the Xen again. As a developed society the Xen had managed to colonize several planets; all managed under their meticulous rule.

  It wasn’t long before war broke out among the colonies. The conflict lasted over eight years, leaving millions dead in its aftermath.

  Finally sick of death and destruction, the Earth and the Xen drafted a peace treaty. The Treaty of Epsilon Eridani was signed on Monday, March 7, 2118, Terran Calendar, on board a neutral unarmed freighter. In the dusty haze of that star the treaty was signed by both governments, ending the bloodshed.

  The treaty has been in effect for eighteen years.

  Chapter 1

  Max Dekker emerged from the front door of his rather large estate. His home was more like a hacienda. It was an outpost in its basic layout. Spread out over a large footprint, the main building enclosed an open square. The home was two-story in some places. The hacienda possessed a pair of towers where, if someone was so inclined, armed sentries could be put on watch. The overall aesthetics, however, was a hybrid of old US Colonial and Roman design. A few places, like the colonnade in the enclosed square, had a slight resemblance to nineteenth-century Spanish architecture.

  Dekker, a retired EEF Marine Colonel, had designed the home himself. He had always been partial to the large Colonial porches like the kind George Washington had at his home in Mount Vernon. Dekker’s porch was designed in a similar manner. Showing a good deal of his fifty some-odd years of age, Dekker looked out into the cool night sky. His wife, Mary, and his senior hand, Kyle Jensen, sat in one of the rocking chairs set along the porch, drinking lemonade. They looked out on Dekker’s land - a vast stretch of green plain that extended out of several miles in any direction framed by the beginnings of the surrounding woodlands.

  There was no other dwelling for at least a hundred miles or so.

  Two moons shined in the sky. One was bright blue white while the other was a bit fainter amidst the luminous interference of the larger natural satellite. Both looked similar to Luna on Earth except one looked much closer in the night sky. The terrestrial looking planet where Dekker’s house was built was called Kappa Ceti Five, which was roughly thirty light years from Earth.

  “Nice night.” Jensen said, looking up from his rocking chair into the stars.

  “Not bad.” Dekker agreed, taking a sip of his lemonade. “It would have been nice if we had found that ilmenite patch.”

  “Oh, David! Try to let it go for the evening!” Mary Dekker spoke up. Mary was about ten or so years younger than her husband. She still wore her outdoor khakis from traveling with her husband and his crew, but she still had a refined lady-like look to her. “I’m sure we’ll find it soon enough.”

  “I hope so.” David Dekker took a few steps back towards them. “Getting more industry to this planet will go a long way to making our lives easier.”

  Kyle Jensen couldn’t help but laugh aloud. “You mean it will go a long way to ending our fiscal year a lot more comfortably.”

  “That too.” Dekker grinned at his former officer.

  “Are you both really that eag
er to spoil the tranquility of Kappa Ceti Five?” Mary smirked, taking another drink of her lemonade. “To imagine all of this, with factories belching fumes into the air and more endless shopping malls.”

  “Expansion, my dear.” David noted with a slight turn of his head. “It’s the human legacy to make his presence known to the galaxy.”

  “Hehe! Yeah, one day all those fast food wrappers and empty fuel cell casings will be dug up by another civilization long after we’re gone and they’ll know…” Jensen grinned jovially, “…human life was here.”

  “Oh, stop it! You know, if you two are so opposed to human expansion then why are you helping me find resources out here?” David Dekker asked in a slightly agitated tone.

  “Well, things like ilmenite is something that is needed out here.” Mary replied. “If we can build titanium engine parts here and NOT ship them across the galaxy, it saves a hell of a lot of fuel and maybe, just maybe, reduces some of the factory emissions on Earth.”

  “Earth’s a dying planet.” Jensen said wryly. “That’s why I enlisted and came out here in the first place. I can actually breathe on this planet.”

  “Actually, Earth is getting a lot better.” Dekker replied. “It was a lot cleaner when I went there last year.”

  “I suppose.” Jensen smirked.

  “I just hope we don’t manage to screw things up again.” Mary Dekker added. “We have a real chance to do things right this time. Knowing humanity, though, I have my doubts.”

  “You know, you both really bum me out sometimes! You’re so determined to see our species fail!” David stated, adding enough of a humorous tone so as not to start a real argument.

  “I know my species all too well, old friend.” Jensen looked over his lemonade at his former commanding officer. “So do you!”

  David Dekker only offered a smirk in response. He turned to look back out over the dark green field beyond his house. The color was only apparent from the small lamps burning near Kyle and Mary. It was dark and still the way only an uninhabited planet could be beyond the light of their home.

  Kyle Jensen stood up, having finished his lemonade. In his early forties, Jensen was still in excellent shape. His tan shirt and olive drab khakis, a basic substitute for the uniform he had worn for years prior, was dusty from a long ride and a hard day’s work.

  “Well, I’m going to take a shower and turn in.” Jensen carried his empty glass towards the open doorway to the home. “Good night all!”

  “Good night, Kyle.” Mary replied warmly.

  “What the hell is that?!?” Dekker said loudly.

  Kyle thought at first that he had said something to upset his boss, but upon turning to look back at David he noticed his former commander was staring into the night sky. He walked back over to where David was standing at the edge of the porch, next to one of the thick pillars at the entry. David kept his eyes fixed on the sky.

  “What is it? Kyle asked with obvious concern.

  “Straight on, then about three degrees right, twenty degrees up. Right above those mountains.” David explained, pointing to the sky above the distant dark peaks.

  Kyle strained to look. His eyes weren’t as sharp as they used to be and he was tired. Still, he hadn’t heard David’s voice call out direction so seriously since they were both in the service. Kyle followed David’s instructions, looking to the same patch of night sky.

  There were stars, a cluster of them….and a few of them moving. The moving stars were apparently in formation, though they were too far away to be certain.

  “Shit! What the fuck?” Jensen stated aloud.

  “What is it?” Mary stood up, noticeably unnerved by Kyle’s reaction.

  “Mary, get in the house.” David’s voice ordered in a calm seriousness. “Tell security to set Condition One then lock yourself in the shelter.”

  “Oh God, are you…”

  “Do it NOW!” Colonel Dekker glared at her suddenly.

  Mary didn’t need to be told twice. She moved quickly to carry out her husband’s orders. Jensen and Dekker kept their eyes fixed to the sky. The three or four glowing dots would be out of view in a few seconds behind the mountain range.

  “Guns?” Jensen asked aloud.

  “Yes, please! If you would.” David’s tone returned to calm.

  Kyle ran off in the same direction as Mary, into the well-lit home. Dekker could already hear the heavy footfalls of the hands of his estate, all running to arm themselves and establish the new security directive.

  Dekker kept his eyes fixed to the night sky. “What the hell is this about?” his hushed voice asked aloud rhetorically.

  The four stars descended upon the mountain range far in the distance. As they neared the peaks, they turned upward. There were eight points of light burning into the early night; two thruster engines for each transport. The transports looked like old-fashioned helicopters. Each had a side-by-side two-seat cockpit. The flight deck was set generously towards the broad nose of the craft, allowing a broad field of vision. Two large engines were set at the top of the transports with short wings protruding from their sides. The troop carrier section was quite thick and set below the craft. The main entry of the vehicle was just below the cockpit at the front of the vehicle. A pair of particle beam cannons set at the sides of the vehicle would cover troop deployment. A six foot tapered tail stretched from the back of each transport, branching out into a pair of stabilizers and control fins for atmospheric flight.

  The grey transports flew swiftly over plain. The visible features of the craft were obscured in the night.

  Kyle Jensen emerged from the Dekker villa, carrying an assault rifle. He pulled back the breach of the weapon, locking the first round of the extended clip in.

  “Damn it! How could security slip like this?!?” Jensen grumbled. He had a radio clipped into his right ear. A voice was screaming into the tiny microphone. “GET THAT TOWER GUN UP!!!” he shouted back.

  Over his shoulder, high up on the villa’s lookout tower, a heavy machine gun was loaded onto a tripod. Clearly, the Dekker home and its hands had anticipated the possibility of such an attack.

  “Tower cannon up, sir.” The voice in Dekker’s ear replied.

  “You know who they might be?” Dekker asked, his eyes still fixed on the approaching glowing points on the horizon.

  “No idea, sir. I’m sorry.” Jensen had a hint of shame and worry in his voice. “The feed from our satellite is dead. We’ve got no readings!”

  “So for all we know, there could be a Xen battleship up there and we wouldn’t know.” Dekker noted gravely. “Is my wife safe?”

  “She’s in the shelter.” Jensen answered.

  “Initiate Protocol Two. Have Peterson get her out of here.”

  Jensen glanced quickly over at his aged boss. “Aye, sir.” Jensen turned away to talk into his headset. “Peterson. Initiate Protocol Two. Grab the provisions bag and a rifle and get Mrs. Dekker out of here.”

  “Yes sir.” A young voice called over the com.

  “Sir?” Another voice cut in. “We’re getting a transmission from those transports. It’s an old EEF code.”

  “What?!?” Jensen barked. He then turned to his boss. “O’Hara is saying he’s getting an EEF code.”

  “EEF?” Dekker’s head cocked back in surprise.

  “I don’t know…” Jensen responded uncertainly. His assault rifle was ready in his arms. The transports were very close. They would be there in a matter of seconds.

  Dekker raised his own hand-held transmitter to his head. “Continue Protocol Two. All weapons hold. Open fire on Major Jensen’s command.”

  “Yes sir.” Several voices replied.

  The two lead transports surged forward, pulling outward to slow on the flanks of the villa. The large jets on the sides of the ship extended out from the body of the craft, turning on thick mounting arms to rotate their large engines down to hover. Dekker and Jensen looked up at the ominous sight of the two hovering gunships and the two
slowing between them. Both former EEF Marines knew they were no match for the gunships. They also knew they were Xen.

  The wind kicked up strongly around them. The other two ships reoriented their powerful engines down, allowing the dropships to descend gently to the ground. The wind became violently strong. Even with repulse assist the transports expelled a lot of wash. Dekker and Jensen squinted for a moment until the ships landed and throttled their engines back, allowing a reprieve from the gale.

  The forward hatch of both ships dropped, allowing over two dozen Xen soldiers to rush out. They each had a standard issue assault rifle, helmets, and FNB (Flash and Ballistic) padding on their grey uniforms. They were an intimidating sight. Xen soldiers were notorious for their discipline and efficiency.

  Another soldier emerged from the dim green light within one of the transports. The Xen had a general look to them. Most were light brown skinned, many with Asian features and, on average, six foot forms. The forty some-odd year old man that emerged from the transport was different. He had the appearance of a human from Earth. Dekker and Jensen were shocked as the Terran man walked out across the lush green grass towards them. A Xen officer, wearing a long black leather trench coat, hurried to follow the human.

  “Euler?!?” Jensen straightened up. He was stunned.

  “Lieutenant Jensen.” Euler, an aged soldier with skull-short brown hair, greeted his former commanding officers. “Captain.”

  “Lieutenant Jensen retired as a Major, ‘Sergeant’!” Dekker noted to Euler forcefully. “My final rank was Colonel.”

  Euler grinned. “My apologies sir.”

  “Euler?” Jensen was still in shock. “You? With the Xen?!?” Jensen was stunned into silence for a moment. “These are the people that killed your men! How can you...”

  “Times change, Major.” Euler explained. “We have a treaty with the Xen.”

  “That doesn’t allow you to conspire with them, Sergeant!” Dekker replied loudly over the din of the settling thrusters.