Transition: The Inspector Dalton Files, #0

By Adair Hart

The end of a journey can be the beginning of a new one.

 

Inspector Dalton Kingston, Earth Ward, has received his first solo case…on this Earth. As an evolved human with advanced technology who has traveled across timelines with a powerful being, Dalton has a head start on solving this case. Joining him is Evot, his shapeshifting AI, whose cat and crow forms aid him in his investigations. The problem is he has only been on this Earth for a month and he is still learning how everything works.

 

Something has disrupted technological systems in Clarksville, Indiana. One issue is the local Earth Ward safe house was impacted. Another is that Clarksville is a Faith Militia hotbed with a high number of nonhuman deaths.

 

Discovering the cause of the blackouts while coming to grips with this Earth's culture and various power factions is a new challenge for Dalton. Despite that, he will do what he does best—investigate.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Adair Hart
• Release date: Apr 18, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393034049

Book preview

Contents

Title

Copyright Page

01

02

03

04

05

06

07

08

09

10

11

Note from the Author

About the Author

Acknowledgments

Books

Title

Copyright © 2020 Adair Hart

All rights are reserved to the author. No part of this e-book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

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

Editing done by Miranda Miller of Editing Realm

Cover done by Tom Edwards

Proofreading done by Alexa

Published by Quantum Edge Publishing

www.AdairHart.com

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Chapter One

Fighting three or four vampires was one thing; nine was another. Inspector Dalton Kingston was helping Mikhail, an ancient vampire, deal with a rogue group of Blooded vampires. Dalton initially arrived on Earth on January 9, 2013, and it was only a month later that he found himself lending a hand to Mikhail. As the most evolved human on the planet, Dalton’s purpose was to assist where needed.

On his original Earth, vampires were a myth, embellished in stories and folklore, but they were real here. Many different types existed, each with their own strain of Daedrould exotic energy.

Exotic energy was not a new concept for Dalton. A sliver of cosmic energy coursed through him, which gave him an advantage. He called it his Evaran-sense, named after the space-and-time-traveling cosmic being who rescued him from certain death and brought him to Earth.

Dalton’s enhanced senses illuminated an aura around people that told him if they possessed exotic energy, Daedrould or otherwise. It also gave him superior strength and speed relative to a human, but the more important aspect was it allowed him to be aware of his surroundings. He could sense someone’s heartbeat, breathing, and general condition up to fifty feet away. When he focused, everything seemed to slow down.

His senses showed that three Blooded were down the hallway ahead of him and Mikhail and six more on a lower level. Mikhail had planned to take this group down since they trafficked in humans, something that drew attention to the nonhuman world. These vampires did not seem to care about that, a mistake Dalton and Mikhail would correct.

Although most Blooded abided by nonhuman rules set forth by the Earth Ward, the unofficial ruling body on Earth, this group was different. Their whole-body tattoos were a badge of honor, and they dressed in black-and-gold clothing. Their trademark emblem was the golden bandanna that covered the bottom half of their faces. Mikhail had tracked them for a while, but with Dalton’s help, they nailed down a location.

Across the hallway entrance, Mikhail, in his black heavy armor, crouched and peered out. Dalton liked him. With his thick Eastern-European accent and massive size, he was a force to be reckoned with. He wielded a large black shield with a golden design on the front in his left hand and a stun baton in his right. Dalton suspected he was being tested since Mikhail could have done this by himself.

Thanks to some upgrades Dalton received before coming to call this Earth home, he had upgraded his nanotech suit. It currently operated in Scoutspectre mode, named after the space inspector position he held for seventy years, but it had other modes, such as camouflage and casual, that concealed his fair skin well.

A dark-blue mesh under armor covered him from his toes to his neck and formed the first layer. Thin, armored silver pads resided on top of that in various sizes and shapes that segmented the suit. Some pads were larger, like the two on the chest or the ones that covered the quads, while others were smaller, like the ones on the abdomen or the knees. The pads could take a lot of punishment, but they did not fully cover the body, and he was vulnerable between them.

His helmet had three distinct areas. The silver front plate contained a thin, glowing blue slit that covered his eyes and went down over his nose in a T-pattern. Black pads protected the sides, and the top and back were a dark-blue solid piece.

He also carried two weapons. The first was his multipurpose handle, or MH, holstered on his right thigh. The MH had a meshed grip over most of it except near the end where it flattened out. It extended into various utilities, including lethal weapons, but he tried to avoid those situations. He often used it as a stun baton that stored one hundred charges. A light stun consumed one; medium, two; and heavy, three.

The second weapon was his retractable stun gun, or RSG. When activated from his left inner forearm, it formed a blocky, wraparound structure on his right hand with a button on top for his thumb. When he balled his fist and tapped the button, the RSG fired a thin blue beam. The RSG had the same stun levels and usage as the MH.

The RSG covered a lot of situations, but it only had twenty-five charges, so he used it sparingly and only when absolutely required. It also meant that if the RSG was active, the MH either needed to be in his left hand or holstered.

It surprised him that he was allowed to keep it on this Earth, but as he had discovered, alien technology existed in various degrees and stun weapons were common. His was even considered less powerful than the ones he had researched. Still, he relied on it for ranged situations.

As a former Scoutspectre, he often visited places where he could not carry a variety of equipment, and the MH and RSG answered that. The MH also allowed him to connect to systems directly after scanning the port type, and he used it to form useful shapes, such as keys and connectors, when necessary.

So what’s the plan? asked Mikhail.

Dalton nodded. I’m going to rush the three in front of us.

They’ll detect you before you reach them, said Mikhail, looking Dalton over. What if they shoot at you?

Dalton activated his light-blue, semitransparent, rectangular nanoshield from his left forearm. It stood vertically about three feet, with scraper-like endings at the top and bottom. The angled corners made it resemble a widened barrel.

That’s what this is for, he said.

All right, said Mikhail.

We got this, said Dalton.

He pulled out his MH and formed his stun baton. Although he could hit the Blooded from range, he might not get them all, and then it would end up being close range where his stun baton would be better. He charged down the hallway with his shield out and focused. His Evaran-sense made everything around him appear to slow. He relied on that and his speed to close the gap.

The startled vampires focused on him.

Dalton’s ocular implants displayed data labels off to the side in his augmented reality interface, or ARI. It verified what he sensed. The Blooded were weak.

The closest one jumped back and growled. The other two raised their guns.

Dalton slammed into the first vampire, sending it sprawling back into the second. In a continuous motion, he spun and hit the third one on the right with a medium stun.

The Blooded crumpled.

The two others on the left stood and pulled out machetes. The first swung wildly.

Dalton blocked the strike with his shield and raised his arm back. The shield’s bottom scraper pulled the weapon away. Dalton jabbed his stun baton into the attacker’s stomach.

The vampire fell.

The last one tried to slice Dalton’s head off.

He stepped out of range and used his baton to guide the machete past, then slid it up the Blooded’s arm and hit it in the head.

The vampire collapsed.

Mikhail rushed forward. Damn, you’re fast. You didn’t need my help!

Dalton smiled. Your help is always welcome.

Uh-huh.

There’s six more coming up the nearby stairwell. We can use the top of the stairs as a choke point so we only need to deal with two at a time.

Mikhail tilted his head. I sense them too but not that specifically. He rifled through his backpack and tossed a handcuff to Dalton. I wish I had your Evaran-sense.

Dalton had debriefed with the ancient vampires when he first arrived on Earth, and his Evaran-sense had been discussed. To see it in action seemed to impress Mikhail.

They handcuffed the vampires before hustling to the top of the stairwell.

Mikhail motioned to the left. Stay behind that corner and let me be useful. I’ll pull them out of the stairwell and into the open. You can grab them and do your fancy stuff. I’ll smash ’em.

Dalton laughed. My fancy stuff? Bring ’em on.

He enjoyed the heat of the moment. Although he tended to avoid action as a Scoutspectre, it was a good way to release energy.

Mikhail lowered his massive shield in front of him and adopted a defensive stance.

Dalton sensed the Blooded rushing up. Their nervousness suggested they knew they faced something tough. They would know Mikhail as an ancient vampire, but Dalton would be unknown to them. Ancient vampires did not like Blooded ones in general and considered them a rival strain.

Mikhail’s shield held sturdy against a hail of bullets. Some projectiles ricocheted.

Stop shooting, damn it! said one of the vampires.

Two rushed forward with machetes.

Dalton grabbed the first one and threw it to the side. He stunned it, and the vampire stopped moving.

Mikhail bashed the second one back before moving forward and hitting it in the head with his stun baton.

The vampire crumpled.

Mikhail raised his shield and backed up.

Two more Blooded appeared.

Dalton kicked the third one into the fourth.

They sprawled off to the side.

Dalton pointed at them. Get them. I’ll get the last two.

Mikhail yelled as he charged the two who struggled to stand.

Dalton stepped out to the top of the stairwell and looked down at the startled vampires. He jumped down, slammed the fifth one into the wall, and side-kicked another away. As he moved back, the fifth vampire slid to the ground. A tap on the chest, and it stopped moving.

The sixth one used the wall to stand and tried to grab her machete.

Dalton charged over and jabbed his stun baton into her stomach.

She cried out and collapsed.

He hustled up the stairs.

Mikhail dodged machete strikes. He shield-bashed the final vampire and hit it with his stun baton.

Dalton holstered his MH and clapped.

You coulda helped! said Mikhail.

Dalton shrugged. "I