Autumn Infernos 4, page 1
part #4 of Space Seasons Series
Autumn Infernos
Space Seasons Book Four
Dawn Chapman
Copyright © 2020 by Dawn Chapman
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the publisher, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Contents
Acknowledgments
Newsletter
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
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Afterword
About Dawn Chapman
About Mountaindale Press
Mountaindale Press Titles
I actually should have gone away again in 2019, but after Atlanta I got pretty sick and life hit some terrible lows.
The greatest people get immortalised in many ways.
Spike, remembered forever.
Love you all x X x
Acknowledgments
As usual special thanks and shout outs to my sprint buddy, Michael Chatfield. And my other closest friends K.T. Hannah and Luke Chmilenko. Thank you for being you and being there for me as always, and of course just being plain awesome. Guys and gals, these three authors’ books are mint, check them out!
Big thanks to my early readers, Tara, Zeb, and Adam, and to my editing team Nick and Evan. Without all of you amazing people this would not be as polished. You rock. To my wonderful discord group. Kajack, LFB, Chris, Chauf, Ever, V, Carl, Zeb, and Richard. With special mention to some of my dearest friends, Steve Campbell and M.H. Johnson. And those who support me with Patreons ☺ love you too!
There’s also of course, an extra shout out to my publisher for working with me. MDP, you all have been a joy to work with. That includes my wonderful narrator Neil Hellegers who has brought Kyle to life for so many more listeners!
Finally, to all who chat to me daily, and whom I adore, and to the extra special people in the office you all know who you are, and working alongside such professional people, is the best. I couldn’t ask for more.
x X x
Newsletter
Don’t miss out on future releases! Sign up for the Mountaindale Press newsletter to stay up to date. And as always, thank you for your support! You are the reason we’re able to bring these stories to life.
Chapter One
It felt strange heading back to Delta 81 in one of the enemy’s shuttle buggies. I had left Commander Sam in charge of what was left of their base. He was to gather all resources, men, and make the trek to Delta 81 as soon as possible.
The small vehicle bumped and bounced over the terrain something wicked, and I held on, trying my best not to feel sick. It wasn’t working. I felt drained. Physically and emotionally.
I’d been through so much since we’d won back the base. I’d only briefly had time to look at my stat updates, and I’d pushed all the notifications of gaining the planet aside. I couldn’t see it as a win just yet, the losses and gains hard to swallow. Now while I had some time and Dylan drove us, I looked my notifications over, studying the details throughout.
MISSION COMPLETE
TOLSA IS YOURS. FROM RUNNING A GUILD TO RUNNING A PLANET! YOU DON’T MESS AROUND, DO YOU, KYLE?
REWARDS TO FOLLOW!
I glanced to Tyto, wondering what rewards and notifications everyone else had come through.
They’re going to know you own the planet, and they’ve all been rewarded generously. As have you. But this might be much more than we can handle, Hiroto cautioned.
“You okay?” I asked Tyto.
His silence and lowered shoulders told me enough as I glanced to him in between the view of my sheets. He looked at me, and I held his gaze. “I never expected any of this, Kyle. You’ve a lot of decisions to make here. Do you understand all the ramifications?”
“If I fuck this up, we’re all in trouble…”
Tyto sat forward. “Around you are the strongest and smartest people I know. Delegate.”
I watched him as he then sat back, obviously accessing his sheets once more.
I turned to the one page I had to know first, what ramifications were, what that meant for those around me. Those who had lost people. Possibly friends, families.
War is a terrible thing, Kyle. Are you sure you want to know? Hiroto asked. I clicked for the numbers to be shown to me. I did need to know. I needed to know what I was responsible for.
1814 – ALLIES DEAD
26 – DIRECT FRIENDLIES DEAD
700 – M-WOLF DEAD
1088 – DRUDEL SOLDIERS DEAD
2811 – ENEMY SOLDIERS – DEAD
M-WOLF RESPAWNS - UNKNOWN
ENEMY SOLDIER RESPAWNS – UNKNOWN
I swallowed. I was responsible for 4,625 deaths. I hadn’t expected those numbers. I felt tears welling up. There had been deaths around us before. People I had seen around the ships, my life. But this…
I felt the small walls of the buggy closing in.
Kyle, this had to happen, Hiroto said. Think of it this way instead…
I saw a different notification, and I read quickly.
YOU HAVE GAINED CONTROL OF A LEVEL ONE PLANET – HEAVILY SOUGHT AFTER FOR ITS LOCATION AND RESOURCES
BONUSES – YOU GET TO DECIDE WHAT HAPPENS TO THE PEOPLE HERE
ISSUES – THERE’S SOMETHING WORTH SALVAGING WITH HARD WORK. MAYBE?
DO YOU WANT TO TAKE ACTIVE CONTROL OF TOLSA?
RESIDENT SPECIES NUMBERS = 12,977
SENTIENT SPECIES NUMBERS = 8
Y/N
I struggled to think that there was nothing worth having here. The planet itself had lots going for it, and the M-Wolves were here. That wasn’t something to throw away. I clicked the Y and then brushed the screens away. I didn’t have time to study all those. The number of bases, the destruction, the cost to fix them up. It was overwhelming me.
Tyto looked around and scanned the area as much as I did. The lands devastated, the buildings broken, remnants of what had been a stable and great base of operations. One we’d both defended in our time there. It was hard to imagine what he was thinking.
“You okay?” I asked him.
“Feels so weird. We’ve been gone so long.”
“I know, I agree.”
“The base and most of the people there are going to have changed. You know that they move on. You own a whole different planet than the one you first spawned on.”
He was right again. It didn’t mean that I didn’t have that sense of coming home though, it was just a different kind of home.
Up ahead, the giant space stations and area for the base were easy to spot, but the damage was more than horrendous. You could actually see the extra base where Borix had taken us up to; it was mostly destroyed, the long tube that had taken us into the area, gone. Just like Dylan had said he was. Fled.
“So no one has actually spoken with Borix, managed to get hold of him since?”
“No, not personally,” Tyto said. “It was a lot to take in, leaving. You, Saskia and Nehi turning. I think everyone on the base was in some shock when we first left. I let him know you’d perished shortly after. But I didn’t even know he’d fled till Dylan said.”
“So he thought Xirob was dead anyway?”
That must have been awful for him from the start. Hiroto’s emotions came through for us both, and the sadness of losing Xirob hit home once more. I wanted to speak with him. Talk to him about his brother…explain. I suddenly felt bile rising up. I pushed the door open, the ground spinning up at me as I struggled to hold onto everything.
The alarms in the vehicle sounded, and it instantly slowed. Vomit sprayed out behind us.
“Fuck, Kyle!” Tyto grabbed a hold of me. “What the hell!”
“I’m sorry,” I spluttered out as I vomited once more, the waves of nausea ripping through me. “I’m sorry.”
The dust and ground stopped spinning as the vehicle stopped moving and Tyto let go. I dropped to the ground, knees hitting the dirt hard.
There in the middle of the field, out in the open I screamed. Let out everything that was pent up inside me.
“I should be asking you if you’re okay?”
I noticed his boots stand beside me. I didn’t look up. “It’s a lot, all of it, yo
“I do,” he said and kneeled beside me. I felt his hand on my back. “I’ve lost people along this path. Those who I really cared for.”
“Someone at Delta 81?” I wiped my mouth, and when he handed me a pitcher, I took it, looking up at him as I drank in deep, the water settling my stomach and refreshing my system.
“Yeah,” he said. “A long time ago, when I first came to the planet. Fresh out of spawn school, as they say.”
“Sounds like a tough deal.”
“I guess it all is.”
Everything we’d been through was one long journey of the heart and soul. There wasn’t anything we hadn’t been through, and most of it together.
“Ty,” I said.
He looked at me, placed a hand of his on my shoulder, easing me back towards the buggy. “We’ll see what they all have to say. Those that are left, they’re all coming here, so we’ll have something to work with, count, rebuild. It will once again become a great place. But it will belong to those here on Tolsa, and not Arndale.”
I couldn’t do anything but smile at that. “We did it,” I said. “Against all the odds of getting here and beating them, we did.”
“Yes, and it’s all thanks to everything you pulled out of your ass. People look at you and think since you’re not such a high level that you’re a real threat, but they don’t see what’s going on, on the inside.”
“Only I know that shit!” Hiroto said to us both through comms.
“You should be very honoured, Hiroto. Because Kyle is something special.”
I stiffened and heard Hiroto add, “Oh, I know. I see exactly what makes him who he is, and I see what he goes through every day when he agonises over a decision or finally makes a choice. He is very special because he wants the best for all of you. He’s not worried about himself. At all.”
I looked back out to the wasteland that had been Delta 81, and I tried not to let those tears come forward, but they wouldn’t be stopped by anything.
“Stronger together,” I said. “All of us. That means, us, the denti, the M-Wolves. Every single creature that graces space around us. If I have to turn them all from Arndale, then I will.”
Tyto lightly punched me to get me to look back to him. “We know that. That’s why we fight with you.”
We climbed back in and set off once more. Silence befell us, and this time I pulled up my stats to really see what I’d become. How much I’d gained through all the fighting. It was nice to see Hiroto still levelling up as well. Although he seemed to do okay, he was lower than I was.
Think you have a full stat sheet in there somewhere?
I’m not sure, Hiroto replied. I’d like to think I have…
Kyle Ranz - Contains -
Name - Hiroto Toshiaki
Level = 36
Name - Kyle Ranz
Human/Denti
Year of Death- 2629
Class = Fighter/Sorcerer
Age 18 + 2
Level = 37
Respawns = 3
Memories = 90%
Health = 89%
Kenosi = Rank 40
Nanites x 91,620
Body Type = Denti
Structural Integrity = Tungsten and Alumi
Internal AI Chip = X Class
Skin Strength = 68
Blood Capacity = 59
Healing Speed = 70
Overall Personal Level = 345
Strength = 98
Dexterity = 16
Constitution = 149
Intelligence = 82
Wisdom = 33
Charisma = 14
Luck = 24
Quick Points = 2
Mech Warrior Operational Level = 93
Battle Mage - Rank 28
Mech Pilot - Rank 24
Nanite Engineer - Rank 41
Nanite Factory – Rank 77
Human/Machine Interface - Rank 44
Mech Merge - Rank 32
Mech Remote Control - Rank 8
Molecular Insight - Rank 31
Molecular Manipulation - Rank 32
Molecular Acceleration/Deceleration - Rank 36
Combustion - Rank 10
Reversion - Rank 8
Vrolsh Coding Learned
CAD Tech - Rank 21
Kiain Language - Rank 6
Emaxyol Language - Rank 1
Shuttle Operator - Rank 16
Freighter Operator - Rank 10
Computer Science - Rank 12
Electronics and Communication - Rank 15
Electrical Engineering - Rank 18
Mechanical Engineering - Rank 21
Information Technology - Rank 24
Foot Soldier - Rank 30
Merc - Rank 21
Sniper - Rank 19
Gun Smith - Rank 16
Shadow Awareness - Maxed Out
Future Insight - Rank 9
Negotiator - Rank 30
Deception - Rank 27
Reconstruction Expertise - Rank 20
Muscle Healing - Rank 24
Viral Fighting - Rank 15
Poison Resistance - Rank 19
Night Sight - Rank 13
Sword Play - Rank 42
Animal Handling - Rank 9
Null Gravity Management -Rank 10
Detective - Rank 6
Space Politics - Rank 7
Special Traits Awarded x 3 – Any extras here do not show on your Stat Sheet Totals.
Healer = Internal AI Chip X Class – Crystalline and Silver metal chip with integrated healer nanites led by Xe.
Intelligence = Internal prototype AI Chip, inserted on 17th birthday, with consciousness of Hiroto.
Shade Brain – One in a million, you managed to not only keep your memories, but you can also hide them. Your character sheet is elusive to even the strongest of will. UPGRADED - No one can penetrate your Shade now!
Spells - Active - Minor Healing = Requires Kenosi of Rank 5
Spells - Active - Medium Healing = Requires Kenosi of Rank 20
Spells - Passive - Intensive Healing = Requires Kenosi of Rank 50
Particle projectile cannon
Uses energy direct from mana reserves
Can store within battery compartments to aid when needed
Special attributes – when inside a mech it will enlarge to the size needed by its soul bonded owner.
Familiar - Separated - Penalties induced
I was confused with my overall personal level. Can you work it out Hiroto?
I think there was some sort of glitch overall. Yeah. I’ve double checked everything now, we’re good.
Phew, didn’t want the system screwing me.
I wanted to look more at my stat sheets. What did control of the planet mean? How might that help me, or even hinder my plans now?
Drawing up to the outer limits of the base, I could see a small party waiting for us. They weren’t anyone I’d remembered.
No high ranks were around anymore; we’d had those with us in the last fight, but there were refugees here, people who needed leadership, and help.
