These Vandals went far beyond mere terrorism and piracy. They were out to take everything away from him and his kind. Someone had to stop them, and his commanders seemed inept in that respect.
He turned sharply to face the fighter on his tail once again. That circling Legacy and taking its own shots remained a ways off, but at least he could receive instant gratification.
His earlier ploy fooled the Vandal into thinking his latest maneuver was another ploy. By the time he realized it was not, Corbitt had already turned the tables and become the hunter. He maintained a steady hold on the trigger, unleashing an unbroken beam of deadly light ahead of him. Fishtailing the fighter turned it into a visual wave, making it difficult for the Vandal to avoid.
When the Vandal tried to swerve up and down, Corbitt followed suit. He filled the space ahead with so much heat and light, the Vandal’s options ran out and his tail was blasted off. Spiraling helplessly out of control, it presented a far more predictable target. Corbitt realigned his fighter to place the Vandal in his crosshairs.
But death wasn’t instant. He waited for a moment to enjoy his prey. He wanted to give this kid time to think on his death and fear what might await him on the other side. Corbitt wanted those last moments of life flooded with abject terror and self-reflection before he took the shot to obliterate the craft.
One fighter remained, so he punched the engines again to hurry himself back to Legacy and the insect buzzing about its hull. The carrier remained within the top layer of the atmosphere and with control fading from the crew’s grasp, Fury’s attacks drove it further downward.
The fighters were designed to perform flawlessly in atmosphere, but it presented a whole new dynamic for the pilot accustomed to space combat. Corbitt had to fight the moon’s increasing gravity and the drag of the air on his hull. Full stops would be impossible and sharp turns had to be considered carefully so as not to send the ship plunging to the surface.
Any hindrances placed on his skills would surely weigh on the Vandal pilot more heavily. The cocky young kid at those controls probably never experienced atmospheric flight. So far, he had been able to circle the Legacy unchallenged. Now Corbitt planned to overtax the kid’s abilities.
He made a preliminary orbit around the ship to study the damage already inflicted. Each section opened to the outside represented entire teams snuffed from existence. Each scorch mark represented one more act of vengeance owed to those monsters.
Completing his loop, Corbitt spied the fighter flying by Legacy’s aft sections and circling around. He knew it meant to target the engines, and he accelerated once more hoping to target the fighter first. It opened fire before he could. Several shots struck their mark before one breached the hull and triggered another chain reaction explosion.
But the Vandal had been careless, allowing his fighter to get too close to his success. Though the ship in orbit appeared stationary in relation to the moon, it in fact travelled at a high rate of speed to maintain that orbit. Consequently, the explosions within engineering blew back and left the ship at a similarly high rate of relative speed. The fire jet captured and engulfed the Vandal fighter before he even recognized his mistake.
And before Corbitt could celebrate, he realized he had passed the engines at the moment of their destruction. The intense flames caught the tip of his wing and melted the flaps in place. In space it would have been survivable, but in the atmosphere, he couldn’t fight against its drag or the moon’s gravity. Best he could hope for was to use the flaps in the other wing and the rudder to keep the ship stable enough to survive the drop. It wouldn’t be pretty or comfortable, but if he could keep the nose up, he might be able to keep his fighter in one piece and survive the crash.
He looked up through his canopy to judge his chances for rescue, though with the hangar bay gone, there were no ships to send. Spying the Legacy in its deteriorating state, it didn’t seem to matter. It too had lost all hope of maintaining orbit. The heat from the atmospheric friction set the ship aglow in a bath of red and orange. Corbitt could just make out that heat spilling into the open sections of hull and stripping away more of the hull plating. He could almost hear the screams in his head of the crew before their lives were reduced to ash.
Like him, Legacy was going down, but there seemed to be no one left to keep it stable and its nose pointed forward. There would be no one left alive, and it would be a miracle if any part of the structure survived to the surface.
With the ground in sight, Corbitt realized successfully landing this fighter wouldn’t keep him alive, it only delayed his death by a few days without the support and supplies of the Legacy.
* * *
Min’s crew erupted in celebration as the shape of the EDF carrier vanished into an increasing fireball. Though not a unique victory for her, it was momentous nonetheless. The destruction of a full carrier would no doubt strike a crippling blow against the already crippled EDF forces. Still, the Captain knew this battle was not necessarily over.
She brought the raucous crew to silence once more and returned their focus to their jobs.
“What is this moon like? If there are survivors, can they last down there?”
“No one could survive that,” Evermore challenged.
Min would not take it for granted. She hadn’t noticed Corbitt’s fighter struggling to keep its occupant alive; she simply wouldn’t underestimate the strength of those carriers. She knew they were sturdy and their hulls resilient. If the atmosphere was thin enough, it was conceivable survivors would remain in the innermost compartments. If the moon gave them the means, they might even stay alive long enough for rescue; and word of Fury’s success would elevate the Vandals’ already hated status in the EDF.
One of the young kids pulled up the information from the database. Whatever they had on this moon had come from an Earth report, captured in some raid or assimilated from a stolen ship. All Min cared about was the information itself.
“Surveys report a stabile atmosphere and sparse plant life, but the surface is dry. There is no water to be found down there.”
She crossed the bridge to study the report for herself, allaying her own fears. Though the moon had held no value for the long-gone research team to continue studying, it put her mind at ease. If there were survivors, they wouldn’t last, nor would anyone take another look at this moon and chance upon the wreck.
“Satisfied?” Evermore asked, secretly hoping to return the celebratory mood.
Min returned to her chair and sat comfortably down, taking in the faces waiting on her answer. “Yes I am. Now please get us out of this system before we attract any more attention.”
Author’s Notes
Thank you for reading this preview of my new epic adventure.
Dione’s War is a massive, 300,000 word, world-building epic of hardship, tragedy, and survival. I think of it as a complete series without some of the constraints serialized storytelling imposes, and without the frustrations of finishing a book only to find a cliffhanger. Just as a popular streaming service I won’t name releases their original programming all at once, Dione’s War will give you the full arc in one volume without making you wait for new parts to be released.
That’s not to say there won’t be a sequel at some point. I will be leaving some threads open for that possibility, but they will be addressed in such a way that they will be considered resolved in the context of this story.
I recommend you follow me on Facebook and Twitter for updates on future releases, as well as coupon codes for discounts on my books.
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Also By J.J. Mainor
The Depot-14 Series
The Americium Shipment
Best friends Jakarta Jones and Colton Wells own and operate one of fourteen supply depots in orbit around the planet Durango. Today proves to be a bad one when an armed gang boards the depot, taking them and their clie
nts hostage while they wait for a cargo ship carrying a valuable load of americium. To keep the hostages alive, the pair must bide their time and wait for the right opportunity to strike back. But as the cargo ship grows ever closer to the station, can they find that opportunity, or will they lose the americium?
Broken Saber
When Colton goes down for murder, it’s up to Jakarta to find the evidence that will free him.
Family Vengeance
After returning home to settle the estate, Colton learns his father’s death was murder. Now he must fight his own desire for revenge to avoid becoming a murderer himself.
Crash Landing
A security job turns into a fight for survival when a passenger ship crash-lands on the hostile world of Hen. While Jakarta struggles to defend the survivors, her biggest threat may not be the natives.
Revenge With a Kiss
Jakarta falls for a traveler Colton doesn’t like. Are his feelings justified, or is it a case of simple jealousy?
The Freedom Reigns Series
The Siege of LX-925
In the early 23rd century, four nations dominate interstellar travel. Their programs have remained a mystery to the people of Earth, including their own people, and the UN wants to know why. Previous inspectors have yielded little insightful information. Dr. Remy Duval is the latest to venture into the unknown.
The Republic Ship Freedom has been ordered to remove a group of defiant miners from the dead world LX-925. As Remy marvels over the advanced technology at the crew's disposal, he quickly understands the horrific downside to these wonders. Risking everything, Remy schemes to bring a peaceful end to the standoff before it escalates into genocide.
The Vorman Insurgence
Broken and humiliated, Remy Duval must play the defeated prisoner to the sadistic Colonel Freedom while he plans his escape and return to Earth.
The Colonel and his crew are after answers to the uprising on LX-925 when new orders send them to TL-311, a planet recently conquered from an alien race called the Vorman. Half his lieutenants are sent down to the surface with their own teams to test their leadership. The mission: to seek out and eradicate any Vorman that remain behind.
With half the staff remaining behind, Remy expects to get his chance to take over the ship and make his escape…until Colonel Freedom sends him down to the planet with Lieutenant Anders. When things couldn’t get any worse, they find out too late there are more than just a few Vorman waiting on the surface.
The introduction to Hell is over…now it’s time for Remy to burn.
Subject D-20
When the Acerna threaten an Independent Union facility, the RS Freedom is called in to extract the Republic’s liaison. During the mission, Remy Duval witnesses the most heinous act yet, and decides he’s had enough. With a new ally by his side, he takes advantage of the growing chaos to attempt a mutiny.
Aliens get aboard, a spy runs loose, and to top it off, Major Sadile’s medical experiment, Subject D-20, escapes the medical bay; the sadistic Colonel may be the least of Remy’s worries. But one thing is certain: failure means the end of the road for the UN inspector.
The Fifth Fleet
With the Freedom under his control and repairs nearly complete, Remy Duval and his small crew of rebels find their plans to return to Earth placed on hold when a Vorman ship discovers their location. His old friend Sake seeks peace, but determining his true intentions will expose everyone’s secrets and betrayal. However it will be the Republic’s largest secret, the Fifth Fleet, that threatens all his dreams of peace.
Freedom’s Wake
Remy Duval's one chance to save Earth lies in navigating the Freedom across a deadly patch of concentrated radiation known as the Crucible. His sanctuary lies in a hidden dimension while the ship travels unguided. But when a race of mechanical beings slips aboard and threatens their plans, Remy and his crew must suffer exposure to repel this new menace.
Target: Earth
The race is on! Remy Duval must rely on every trick and tactic picked up during his long ordeal if he expects to stop the Vorman attack on Earth, but first he must deal with his own demons and the nagging fear that to win the day, he must sacrifice the last bits of his own morality. In the end, he may be more like the monsters he spent his life prosecuting than he cares to admit.
The Timberlands Series
Timberlands: Blood and Prey
After witnessing his brother's death and fleeing from the killer in the woods during a camping trip, Gunner returns to the remote timberlands of Northern Maine with three friends to recover the body. He feels he's ready for the killer this time, but he's not ready for the surprises the forest hides.
Timberlands 2: Fatal Friendships
A real estate agent selling the timberlands finds eight trespassers searching for their missing friends unaware that the curse of the timberlands has transformed one of those missing friends into an angry killer.
Timberlands 3: Inferno
A team of hotshots move into the timberlands to battle a wildfire, but they march straight into a grudge match between two killers battling for dominance – and bodies!
They Knew
An ancient race called the Oegyein once ruled this galaxy, but today, very little remains of their empire. Most of what we know is the stuff of legends and myths.
When Tau Bello discovers an ancient ship floating in the cold emptiness of space, it proves to be but the first clue in a treasure hunt that promises to unravel those legends and myths. It is a hunt that attracts a lot of unwanted attention, and for some, those promises are worth killing for. Tau quickly discovers the real treasure may not be untold riches or vast scientific knowledge, but his very life!
Dione’s War
A generation after the Vandals wiped out Earth’s population, a tenuous peace has settled in between the Vandals and the few survivors to have escaped Armageddon. Many of the refugees have accepted Vandal rule as Loyalists while the rest have held onto some sort of independence in the Opposition Colonies.
Dione Pafford lived with her parents as Loyalists, mining their tiny and desolate moon. While on a survey mission to a previously unexplored corner of that moon, she discovers the wreckage of a long-crashed Earth warship and its lone survivor: Jack Corbitt. It is a discovery that upends the peace and finds her people once more hunted by an enemy who has grown too powerful. To survive extinction, Loyalists and Colonials alike look to Dione as the entire conflict becomes her personal war.
The Greenburg Timelines: Prisoners of Utopia
Cole Greenburg wanted nothing more than to see his father one last time before his deployment to Iraq.
Jessica Fulton was a semester away from earning her doctorate in astrophysics and attaining a promising future with NASA.
Michael Greenburg was close to completing his life's work on his theories of multiple universes when his device sent the trio out prematurely, leaving them to wander the alternate Earths aimlessly.
Their one hope to get back home and resume their normal lives lies with a world more advanced than their own.
On an alternate Earth where the Ancient Greeks still rule and Natives still dominate the western world, technology has placed society on a course for self-destruction. Their hope lies in expansion and Michael's hopper promises to open up new worlds. In exchange for access to other, uninhabited, alternate Earths, the Greeks offer a path home; but as the group realizes this advanced world is not the utopia they believed, and the people are not the altruists they presented themselves as, Cole risks everything to fix their mistakes while his father tries to open the door for them to leave before their time runs out.
USS Krakowski
Disgraced Lieutenant Jace Modeen takes a team aboard an alien drone ship for what should have been a routine mission of study and discovery. But it quickly becomes his chance to demonstrate his leadership and redeem his past mistakes when he learns the ship heralds a larger attack force with
a world-shattering origin.
Are There Heroes In Hell?
The long-awaited follow-up to USS Krakowski!
Nearly 40 years before Jace Modeen and the USS Krakowski saved the Earth, the Arctic Wars dragged the world’s nations into a conflict so brutal, old friends become enemies, and old enemies become monsters.
USMC Lance Corporal Jackson Freebourne served on the front lines before his position was overrun and he was captured by Canadian forces and sent to an icy prison. If the elements don’t kill him, the guards might, and the only chance for survival involves keeping his head down and staying invisible. But it is hard to stay invisible when torture and death are the rules of the day.
Compared To What
Hades Garden is a small town in legal limbo. It has become a safe haven for criminals looking to start over. As long as you're in town, state and federal law can't touch you, but break the laws of Hades Garden and you're out
Dale Ridgewick comes to Hades Garden with the cops on his tail and a bagful of cash in his truck. Trying to start a new life, he buys a house, finds a girlfriend, and gets a job. But when a workplace rivalry threatens the peace he seeks, Dale harnesses his dark past to wage war, unaware his nemesis harbors his own deadly past.