Impulse, page 1
part #12 of First Colony Series
Copyright © 2021 by Ken Lozito
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Impulse
Ken Lozito
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
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Author Note
Afterword
About the Author
Also by Ken Lozito
Prologue
An excerpt from the colonial archives: The First Generation of the Colony:
The Ark program was Earth’s most ambitious effort to establish an interstellar colony in a star system twenty-five light-years away. The Ark was comprised of one massive ship and over a hundred automated support ships. To survive the long journey, all colonists were put into stasis and were monitored by the Ark’s computer systems.
Communications with Earth were maintained through the deep space buoy network, which bolstered data transmissions to the Ark. As the Ark traveled through interstellar space, auto-factories built comms buoys designed to send and receive data communications from Earth.
Unbeknown to the colonists, the Ark received a massive update to its computer systems which overrode the core mission parameters. This included a new destination much farther away along with protocols for the automated ships to continue to gather resources on the long journey. What started out as an eighty-five-year journey, took over two hundred years to complete. The colonists woke to a star system approximately sixty light-years from Earth.
Due to limitations of the Ark’s computer systems, detailed data received from Earth was expunged, leaving the colonists with limited insight as to what happened. Communications were limited to the speed of light, so the colonists could expect to wait a hundred and twenty years for a response from Earth. However, the Ark’s powerful sensors monitored Earth’s star system throughout its long journey. Analysis of the data revealed that some kind of calamity had befallen the Earth and the entire solar system.
Fragmented data received from Earth referred to a virus outbreak that lead to a massive war between Earth and local colonies. The virus, known as the Vemus, altered human physiology and all mammalian life on Earth. The data received from Earth included references to a massive fleet of ships. Analysis of the deep space buoy network revealed that the buoys had gone offline sequentially, beginning with those closest to Earth. It was theorized that what had happened to Earth was now in route to the colony. It was later determined that the deep space buoy network was destroyed by the Vemus fleet.
Vemus Wars: Detailed references to the Vemus Wars can be found in the colonial archives under the Nemesis volumes.
Colonial Defense Force: Commonly referred to as CDF, is the colonial military established to protect the colony. There were many colonists involved with the creation of the CDF, but the most influential colonist regarding its origins is General Connor Gates.
New Earth: Three hundred thousand colonists were brought out of stasis and began exploring the planet that would ultimately be named New Earth. The first generation of colonists created a home on a planet teeming with life. There was also archeological evidence of an advanced civilization similar to humans. However, since the colonist hadn’t found any intelligent species currently inhabiting the planet, it was widely believed that whoever had built the cities abandoned the planet, or had wiped themselves out through multiple global wars.
Post Vemus War exploration lead to the discovery that the intelligent species, now known as Ovarrow, had not left the planet, but had gone into stasis in underground bunkers found across the main continent. Detailed references to these discoveries can be found under the We’re Not Alone: Discovery volumes in these archives.
Ovarrow stasis technology is inferior to those used by humans. This lead to severe illness and rapid aging experienced by some Ovarrow when brought out of stasis. Colonial scientists helped the Ovarrow overcome many of these issues, but the effects of inferior stasis technology still significantly impacts their species.
It is impossible to reference the Ovarrow without also referencing a species known as the Krake. The Krake are a technologically advanced civilization who discovered the use of gateway technology that allowed them to explore the multiverse. Through the use of Spacegates and Arch Gateways (On planets), the Krake were able to explore different versions of their star system across multiple universes. The Krake discovered multiple versions of ‘New Earth’ where Ovarrow had evolved to various states of technological advancement. However, the Krake were unable to find any other universe in which where their own civilization existed. This lead to a fundamental shift in the Krake society as they sought to understand why an inferior species like the Ovarrow thrived, yet their own species hadn’t evolved at all. The Krake became a society obsessed with perfecting their predictive capabilities and its effects on all conflicts as they pertain to individuals, groups, and societies as a whole. The Krake studied and exploited Ovarrow across multiple universes, including the universe with New Earth.
Krake War: There is a significant portion of this archive dedicated to the Krake War. There have been multiple volumes written about the Krake War, but a detailed accounting of it is beyond the goal of this brief.
Multiverse Reference: The CDF conducted many operations into the multiverse to first learn about the Krake, but also to find allies. Analysis of Krake data repositories revealed that they had a limited understanding of the multiverse. For example, the Krake explored the multiverse for centuries and learned that there were limits to how many universes they had access to. Human physicists throughout time have theorized about the existence of infinite universes. However, since the Krake had successfully pierced the veil or bubble that separates universes, they concluded that their access to the multiverse was limited. Furthermore, over time the Krake were unable to access universes that they’d once visited. Like the Krake, colonial scientists do not understand why, but further study is required.
Post Krake War: Two dominant factions of Ovarrow were discovered through colonial exploration of New Earth, the Mekaal and the Konus.
The Mekaal were a faction that resided in stasis until colonial scientists brought them out. The computer systems that controlled their stasis pods had failed, leaving many to die while never coming out of stasis. The colonial government established a program to assist the Mekaal, and they remain allies of the colony. There are ongoing efforts to fully integrate the Mekaal into colonial society.
Konus - Easily the most dominant faction of Ovarrow on New Earth. Their population had been estimated to over a million before the Krake Wars, but their population has decreased from war with the Krake and a conflict with the CDF. The Konus successfully came out of stasis decades before the colonists arrived on New Earth. The Konus fearing a Krake invasion, kept their presence a secret while they brought other Ovarrow out of stasis to become part of their society.
Through years of war and hardship, the Ovarrow of New Earth became a militaristic society that employed brutal governance tactics. The Mekaal, through their association with the colonists, abandoned the stricter societal practices choosing instead to embrace a more individualist approach similar to the laws of the colony.
The colony strives to maintain a peaceful coexistence with all Ovarrow factions on New Earth, but as the colony grows, so do some divisions that believe the colony should limit its interactions with any Ovarrow, whether they be the Mekaal or the Konus. There are factions among the Ovarrow who promote the idea that the colonists are invaders and have no right to live on the planet.
General Connor Gates, a founding member of the CDF, was instrumental in defeating the Vemus and the Krake, and has proven to be tough but fair in his dealings with Ovarrow. His actions throughout the colony’s brief history are still s tudied by future officers in the Colonial Defense Force as well as various universities that study interspecies diplomacy.
1
“This doesn’t look good,” Sergeant Bravos muttered.
“Lieutenant Raines,” Diaz said.
“Yes, Captain?”
“What is my rule about alarmists in my reserve company?”
“Put up or shut up, Captain.”
“That’s right,” Diaz said. “The enemy is out there, waiting to lure us out.”
Lightning flickered across the night sky, followed by the distant booming of a retreating thunderstorm.
Hiding in a thick tree high above the CDF reserves, Connor watched as Diaz shook his head at his troops. They wouldn’t expect a CDF general to be doing stealth recon.
Connor wore a multipurpose protection suit, or MPS, in stealth mode, which allowed him to sneak past the defenses Diaz had deployed in the area. He didn’t need to exert much strength to hold his position because the MPS took the burden off of him by locking into place. Even though it wasn’t as versatile as a Nexstar combat suit, the MPS was second to none when it came to stealth recon.
“New orders have just come in, Captain,” Lieutenant Raines said. “We’re to initiate rescue operations of Delta Platoon.”
Several of the soldiers nearby swore.
“The Mekaal let themselves get captured again?” Diaz asked.
“Looks that way. They’re carrying critical intel that requires retrieval,” Raines answered.
“This is bullshit,” Sergeant Bravos said. “This is the seventh time this week they’ve been captured. If they couldn’t get it right the other times, why do they keep getting picked for retrieval missions, sir?”
“Doesn’t matter, and knowing wouldn’t change anything,” Diaz said. “Mekaal soldiers are here to learn.”
“I never want them guarding my back. It’s no wonder the Krake nearly wiped them out,” Bravos said.
“And if it wasn’t for us, they would have. Right, Sergeant Bravos?” Diaz asked.
“Exactly, Captain. So, why are we on rescue duty?”
“I get it. It’s been a long week, and I’m ready to get back to Sanctuary, too—eat some good food and sleep in my own bed with much better company than you animals. We all are. But since the Mekaal have stepped in it again, it’ll be up to us to show them how it’s done,” Diaz said.
Connor decided it was time the complaining troops were taught a lesson and sent a signal to the rest of his squad hidden away among the trees. Twenty Mekaal soldiers in stealth MPSs dropped down, taking the reservists completely by surprise. Several CDF soldiers tried to bring their weapons up but were shot for their trouble. They sank to the ground as the practice shots commanded their combat suits to go into a wounded cycle.
Diaz spun around and found himself staring down the barrel of an AR-74.
“Looks like you could use someone to watch your back.”
“Connor?” Diaz said in disbelief. “I mean… General Gates. I didn’t think you left the mobile command center anymore.”
Connor grinned. “I wanted to get some fresh air.”
Diaz nodded and glanced at the soldiers who were with Connor.
“Mekaal commandos,” Connor said.
The Mekaal were a race of beings known as Ovarrow, the indigenous species that had evolved on New Earth. They were bipedal, with a range of skin tones that encompassed brown, tan, and yellow. Their skin appeared pebbled like that of a reptile. Pointy protrusions stemmed from their shoulders and elbows. They had long arms and hands large enough to grip a man’s head, and their severe brow lines stretched to the backs of their wedge-shaped heads. They were lean and strong, but they had a bit of a stoop that made their heads bob when they moved.
A nearby Mekaal strode over to them. The Ovarrow translators randomly assigned slightly modulated human accents to the speakers in order to convey more meaningful communication between the two species. For this particular exchange, the translator had assigned an Aussie accent.
“Captain, I’m First Fist Urret. We found some gaps in your defenses. Perhaps you could have benefited from a few Mekaal watching your backs this evening.”
Diaz gave Urret a long look. “Perhaps you can go fu—” he stopped and looked at Connor. “What’s going on here, General?”
Connor and Diaz had been friends for twenty-two years and were among the early risers when the Ark had arrived at New Earth. Although Diaz was no longer an active member of the Colonial Defense Force, he was still in the reserves, and he reverted back to standard military decorum when in the field. Wounded pride aside, Diaz was not a fan of any Ovarrow.
“I figured your soldiers were tired of sitting out here in the rain,” Connor replied.
Diaz glanced at his men. “You’ve got that right. What do you need us to do?”
Connor smiled. “That’s the man I know,” he said and gestured for the other soldiers to gather around while a medic visited the “wounded soldiers” to reverse the mock injuries. “I’m not going to beat around the bush. You reacted to the news of Delta Platoon’s capture exactly the way we expected you to.”
Diaz grunted and bobbed his head to the side. “A ruse. They were just pretending to be incompetent the entire week. What for?”
“To get them into position. Major Harris believes he’s in a good position to hold his location at the compound and ride out the clock. The games end, and he and his company win,” Connor replied.
Diaz glanced at Urret. The Mekaal officer simply regarded him, and Diaz looked back at Connor. “Harris has Mekaal under his command?”
“That he does. There are mixed squads of CDF and Mekaal soldiers guarding the compound.”
“So how do you propose we get inside?” Diaz asked.
“Orchestrated chaos.”
“Isn’t that cheating, General?”
“You’re assuming I know the entire operation for these war games. I don’t, but I’ve put enough of them together to notice the patterns, so I thought I’d introduce something new. We need to deploy. I’ll give you your assignments on the way,” Connor said.
A quiet muttering could be heard among the reservists as word quickly spread that Connor was with them. No one would have been expecting the CDF general to take the field with such a small force, which amused Connor because that was exactly what he would expect someone like himself to do. He had a reputation for turning standard tactics on their proverbial heads.
Major Harris was a good officer and would use every means at his disposal to protect the compound. However, Connor was counting on a pattern of thinking he’d observed among the CDF in recent years. They’d survived two major wars since colonizing New Earth. Their enemies had been extremely powerful in their own ways, and both had brought overwhelming forces to the battlefield, but the CDF had managed to defeat them. In the eight years since the Krake had been defeated, leaving their homeworld in ruins, they hadn’t returned. There was speculation that factions of Krake survivors would one day rise up, but the colonists weren’t aware of any such activity.
After eight years of relative peace, Connor needed to keep the CDF ready to defend the colony should the need arise. But as the years had gone by, he’d noticed a certain amount of complacency settle into the CDF and the colony as a whole. He hadn’t anticipated the challenge of maintaining a certain level of readiness without losing the skills they’d gained over the years. These mock battles were the closest they’d come to fighting a real battle, but Connor knew they couldn’t replace the real thing. Nothing could replace the experience gained in combat, but there were no more unifying enemies to fight. This sometimes made him anxious, and the best way to keep a solid state of readiness was through training. These war games were an expansion of what regular CDF soldiers went through. Connor had included CDF reserves, Colonial Field Ops and Security, civilian volunteers, and even invited the Mekaal to participate. The number of civilian volunteers had also increased over the years, and Field Ops had taken the lead in organizing them into support roles. Most colonists understood the need to be ready for the unexpected. Fighting wars among their own homes had taught them that lesson, but eventually, those memories would fade. When they were gone altogether, it would be the CDF who must maintain vigilance against whatever threatened the colony.
