The Unity Worlds at War

By Scott William Carter

Whether it's the soldiers on the front line or the bartenders who serve them, war leaves no one unscathed. These four tales set in Carter's war-ravaged Unity Worlds universe -- three originally published in the leading science fiction magazines of the day, plus one story original to this collection -- will leave you thinking about war's effects long after you finish the final words.

THE LIBERATORS

"There's one rule in the interstellar liberation force: you never take off your helmet. Even if the atmosphere of whatever planet you are liberating from the vicious aliens does happen to breathable, there could be any number of lethal viruses or microbes. The body armor and comm equipment is first rate, and the aliens seem to be on the run. Then, one day, a soldier is forced to take off his helmet to survive. The consequences are disastrous for the liberation force, but it is no toxin, virus, or microbe that infects the military: it's the truth . . . Carter's warning about how military might be used in the future stands undiminished." -- The Internet Review of Science Fiction

THE BREATH OF THE GODS

Duty versus love. It's a choice that Commander Richard Hagel, charged with overseeing a wayward planet's entry into the Unity Worlds and everything that entails, has to make when an asteroid -- and an act of terrorism -- threaten to both destroy the planet and kill the woman he loves.

""The Breath of the Gods" by Scott William Carter is another adventure tale—the protagonist is racing against the clock, since he only has a few minutes to save the woman he loves before a giant asteroid strikes the planet and destroys it." -- Tangent Online.

THE TIGER IN THE GARDEN

"The Tiger in the Garden" by Scott William Carter presents a classic duty versus honor conflict. Jose, a constable on a poor, out-of-the-way planet, is expecting a government Agent, an alien with unpleasant appearance and even worse personality. He is there to apprehend a terrorist—someone Jose knows well. The situation is complicated by the fact that the alleged terrorist is not the man he used to be, and his past crimes are irrelevant for anyone but the Agent, relentless in hunting down the members of the Resistance. Jose can either help the Agent and betray his friend, or help his friend and kiss his career good-bye." -- Tangent Online

TARKALOW OUTPOST

On a whim, a husband and wife buy a bar on a space station in a war-ravaged corner of the galaxy. When a fragile peace evaporates, their marriage is tested in ways they can never imagine -- and one of them will pay the ultimate price. But in the future, can a marriage survive even death?

Praise for Other Works by Scott William Carter:

"Carter's writing is on target." - Publishers Weekly

"...compelling...good choice for reluctant readers..." - School Library Journal

"Scott William Carter makes it look easy. But if anyone thinks that writing good, intriguing fiction with a clear, plain voice is easy...Well, they should try it sometime." - Chizine.com

SCOTT WILLIAM CARTER's first novel, The Last Great Getaway of the Water Balloon Boys, was hailed by Publishers Weekly as a "touching and impressive debut." His short stories have appeared in dozens of popular magazines and anthologies, including Asimov's, Analog, Ellery Queen, Realms of Fantasy, and Weird Tales. He lives in Oregon with his wife, two children, and thousands of imaginary friends.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Flying Raven Press
• Release date: Jun 6, 2011
• ISBN: 9781458160843

Scott William Carter

Scott William Carter is the author of Wooden Bones and The Last Great Getaway of the Water Balloon Boys, which was hailed by Publishers Weekly as a “touching and impressive debut.” His short stories have appeared in dozens of popular magazines and anthologies, including Analog, Ellery Queen, Realms of Fantasy, and Weird Tales. He lives in Oregon with his wife and two children. Visit him at ScottWilliamCarter.com.

Book preview

THE UNITY WORLDS AT WAR by Scott William Carter

Smashwords Edition. Electronic edition published by Flying Raven Press, June 2011.

Copyright 2011 by Scott William Carter. The Liberators originally appeared in Analog, April 2004. The Breath of the Gods originally appeared in Oceans of the Mind, December 2004. The Tiger in the Garden originally appeared in Asimov's, June 2006. Tarkalow Outpost is published here for the first time.

All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction, in whole or in part in any form. This short story is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

For more about Flying Raven Press, please visit our web site at http://www.flyingravenpress.com.

Table of Contents

Author's Note

The Liberators

The Breath of the Gods

The Tiger in the Garden

Tarkalow Outpost

Author's Note

The four stories collected here — which together amount to the length of a short novel — all take place in the Unity Worlds universe, which is where I've set most of my far future science fiction.

Although I've written more stories set in this busy and crowded place, these four specifically deal with war in some fashion — some directly, like the soldiers on the front line in The Liberators, others indirectly, like the constable of a small backwater world in The Tiger in the Garden who discovers a terrorist in the most unlikely of places. There's action on a grand scale in The Breath of the Gods, when a soldier must choose between duty and love when an asteroid — and an act of terrorism — threaten a wayward planet's entry into the Unity Worlds. And on a more personal level, a husband and wife open a bar in a war-ravaged corner of the galaxy – and the man finds himself losing the woman he loves in ways he could never imagine. Since I wanted to offer my readers something special for this collection, this story is published here for the first time.

Some might say that a collection of stories about a futuristic universe at war should feature only warriors and bloody battlefields, but often the most devastating effects of a war come far from the gunfire. Whether we're dealing with soldiers or the bartender who serves them, war touches us all.

Here's four stories that explore how.

The Liberators

I heard the report of a cannon a half second before the boulder on the ridge above us exploded. 

Pebbles pinged off my helmet.  The ventilator fans whirred behind my ears, and a bead of sweat trickled down my cheek.  The suits did a good job of filtering the air, but the inside of my helmet still smelled slightly metallic. 

It was the dead of night, but my Visosuit enhanced the image, giving the rocky gully an amber tint.  The Dulnari had lousy night vision, so we always fought after sunset.  I quickly counted ten black, sleek-domed helmets in the gully.  Each helmet was marked with a different number, and Rina's number 22 was on the far end.  We broke up two weeks earlier, but I still liked having her close during combat.

Major Steed, my brother's voice crackled over the all-suit frequency, report.

Damon sounded calm as a man could be.  I watched Rina for a reaction, but she didn't move.  I knew she had been spending her time lately with that egghead, Lieutenant Dyle, but I still wondered if she and Damon would hook up now that I was out of the picture. 

Got a group of two hundred Dulnari pinned in a mountain bunker, Colonel, I said to him.  The rest of the target planet has been contained.

I stopped thinking of the planets as having names long ago.  After a while, they all blurred together.

Good . . . We need to finish this planet up and move on to the next one.  Get it done quickly.

Yes, sir.

He cut the transmission. 

I suddenly felt tired.  There was always another target.  Such was the way of life in the elite LS-37, a Liberation Squad who had liberated more planets from the tyrannical rule of the Dulnari than anyone else.  We were legendary in the Unity Defense, our slogan whispered among lesser soldiers like a hallowed prayer.  LS-37, Angels Protected by the Glory of Heaven. 

I peered over the edge of the gully.  The mountain sloped up gently until it reached the rectangular peak.  An opening big enough for their cannons circled the peak; there were two or three cannons on each side.  We could fly up there in under three seconds. 

The problem was that we'd be easy targets.  What we needed was a distraction. 

Our suits were controlled by the electrical impulses in our brains.  I thought the all-suit frequency on, and it was.  Lieutenant Dyle, I said, take Delta Group and do a flyby over the mountain, dropping flash grenades.  The rest of us will storm the bunker.  Hold for my command.

There was a brief pause, and then his reply came back.

Yes, sir, he said. 

All other teams, await my command, I said.

Before I even finished the sentence, Rina was scooting in my direction.  She was a small woman, but inside the bulky black Visosuit you would never know it. 

Our suits were mini spacecraft in their own right.  The slim packs on our backs were loaded with various bombs and missiles, and the fingers of our gloves were equipped with lasers.  The metaplak material could withstand a direct hit from almost any handheld weapon. 

Since the Defense had equipped us with the suits, our battles lately had been decisively won.  We moved in fast, destroyed the Dulnari's local military, and left just as quickly.  A recovery team followed within a day, helping the planet rebuild. 

When Rina was close, I could see through the tinted faceplate to her face — or not really her face, but a re-creation of her face on the external screen.  She was Asian-Latino by heritage.  She had narrow, slanted eyes, and her skin was the color of coffee with cream.  The dust in the air made it hard to read her expression.

Sir, she said, and I could tell she was fighting to keep her voice calm.  Sir, could I suggest that we all attack as one?  There's no need to put Delta Group in danger.

I wondered how close she and Dyle had truly become.  We need a distraction, Private, I replied.        

"But, sir, if we all attack—"

End of discussion, I said curtly. 

She glared at me through the dust, then scooted back to the end of the line.  The rest of the faceplates were turned toward me.  I knew my history with Rina was no secret. 

I switched to the all-suit frequency.  Delta Group, attack now!

My own suit had something my soldiers' suits didn't — a small monitor, mounted inside my helmet just below my faceplate, that allowed me to see what any of my soldiers saw.  I thought the command Screen 40 and up came Lieutenant Dyle's view.   

Dyle was directly over the mountain.  The enemy's cannons fired,