Interstellar Warfare

By Joe Mont

In the year 2435, a young man named Anthony Dawkins yearns for a life of his own. From a young age, he's been forced to raise himself and his beloved sister. Anthony's isolated parents also expect him to take over the family business once he was old enough. As an act of defiance, he joins the Unified Coalition Space Operations Army in a desperate attempt to secure an independent life for both himself and his sister, away from the stubborn control of his parents. While training to become an army trooper, Anthony uses his strong sense of independence to quickly adapt to the harsh demands of military life. With Insurrectionist forces threatening all the Coalition holds dear, Anthony is sent to the stars to fight against the same enemy responsible for bombing his home city. But after his first deployment reveals that the Insurrectionists are only a small part of a much larger plot, Anthony and his fellow soldiers are thrust into the largest interstellar war in history seemingly overnight. With the Coalition in chaos, Anthony must not only keep his promise to return to his sister but also fulfill his oath to defend the Coalition, her colonies, and her citizens.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Aug 7, 2020
• ISBN: 9781647010980

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Interstellar Warfare

Joe Mont

Copyright © 2020 Joe Mont

All rights reserved

First Edition

PAGE PUBLISHING, INC.

Conneaut Lake, PA

First originally published by Page Publishing 2020

ISBN 978-1-64701-097-3 (pbk)

ISBN 978-1-64701-098-0 (digital)

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Bloody Sunday

New Ways

Soldier’s Path

To the Stars

Stardom’s Revelations

Land of the Queen

Liberating Jico

Tip of the Spear

Truilia in Chaos

Walking Puppets

Fearing the Unknown

Our Bunker in the Stars

Operation Ballista

Taking Back Fumerole

Last Stand

Unbroken Promises

For my father, without our conversation, I wouldn’t even have started writing.

For the video games Halo, Star Wars, Gears of War… (the list goes on), for being my inspiration.

Chapter 1

Bloody Sunday

March 26, 2435

Coalition Prime, Earth, Sol System, Terran Sector

This is the Coalition Network reporting with breaking news. Yesterday, the Union of Independent Planets nearly violated the latest boundary agreement with the United Governments Coalition. Increased signs of UIP activity along numerous boundary lines has forced the Coalition to send in extra military support to reinforce the bordering colonies in hopes that the situation does not escalate further. The reinforcing of the border colonies comes just weeks after terrorist bombings on numerous worlds, which claimed the lives of hundreds of citizens. Several Insurrectionist cells have claimed responsibility. The UCSO Fifteenth and Nineteenth Fleets are set to arrive at the border in…

Must have left the TV on last night. I never learn, do I?

After I shut it off, I closed my eyes for a few minutes. I rolled over and opened the shades to reveal the sun shining over Coalition Prime. I got out of bed and checked to see if my sister was still in her room. She was nowhere to be found, and her bed was already made. She was supposed to be going out with some friends today. My sister liked getting out of bed early, even on a Sunday. I closed her bedroom door, which had the letters ADELINE on it, and went to the kitchen to get myself some breakfast. Adeline was nice enough to make me an orange smoothie before leaving. She knew it was my favorite. I ate breakfast in the living room and turned on the TV to figure out why the news anchor lady was sounding so concerned about this boundary thing with the UIP.

The picture of my parents on their wedding day always bothered me whenever I sat in the living room, so I always turned it around when I was in the room by myself. If it were up to me, I would throw the picture out, but Adeline was much more sentimental than me, at least toward them. She still wanted to believe that deep down they still loved us. I had given up believing that a long time ago. Sure, our parents were wealthy businesspeople that paid for a nice house and everything we needed to live, but that was about it. Things might have been different when I was just a baby, but when I was around five years old, they told me it was my responsibility to take care of my younger sister, who was only three at the time.

Once they walked out the door that day, I was lucky if I saw them a few times a year. We barely even got a call or mail from them. My family said I owed my parents for everything they’d given me, and they said that like my childhood was perfect. In reality, it was hell. I had to raise myself and their daughter at the same time with no help or guidance from anybody, and if that didn’t make us even, I didn’t know what would. How the hell was a five-year-old supposed to do all the things a mother and father were supposed to do? The only thing that kept me going was Adeline’s appreciation and her willingness to learn and help as she got older.

Adeline was always nice to me, and in my eyes, she was the only family I had. Maybe the reason I felt that way about her was because she appreciated me like no one else did. I wasn’t too crazy about being a caretaker at such a young age, but it had to be done. No one else was there to do it. At the same time, I was lucky to have a friend to keep me company. Things were a lot harder when you were alone, and a lonely five-year-old would probably end up dead one way or another. I’d learned to bond with my sister. We did everything as a team, and we were always there for each other because no one else was going to be. I admired her sense of compassion but always careful of who might try to take advantage of her good nature. It had happened before, but I made sure I was there to stop it.

Speaking of taking advantage, the stuff C-Net was reporting about definitely was worth listening to. The UIP had always disagreed with the boundary line on both galactic borders, but they seemed to be taking things into their own hands now. I was not surprised. They were always looking for new land they could suck resources out of. Not a lot of people knew much about what life was like in the UIP, but the rumors suggested it was a pretty harsh life. Slavery was common in the UIP, and the rich ruled everything. The Coalition was always getting floods of refugees coming in that managed to escape from the grasp of the UIP. The saddest part was that a lot of these refugees didn’t manage to get any higher level of citizenship other than third class, and even that was only if they were lucky. Most Coalition citizens get second class around the time they graduate high school.

The network broadcasted several live reports from the border colonies as they prepared for the arrival of reinforcements in order to make sure the UIP didn’t try anything else. The news reports were so distracting I watched them all the way until the late afternoon, when I decided to make a sandwich and have lunch at Memorial Square.

I lived in the Prallis District of Coalition Prime. A lot of people visited the district for its malls and restaurants. I wasn’t an expert on shopping, but my stomach had never been disappointed in a Prallis restaurant. I took my usual route and walked northeast through the district toward Memorial Square. I walked by the Julius Diner, mine and my sister’s favorite restaurant. Not far from there was Anniversary Plaza, Prallis’s largest and most popular mall. It was usually the hardest place to walk through on weekends, but strangely, it seemed a lot less crowded than usual. I wasn’t complaining. No doubt it would be at capacity around dinnertime.

I reached Memorial Square quicker than usual and sat down in the grass right below the statue of heroic-looking Coalition soldiers. The square was usually a quiet place. It was a place I would always go to when I needed a break or was really upset about something. Adeline liked it too. We often came here to look at the skyline and take in the scenery. Day or night, nothing could beat its pretty skyline. It was the kind of view that ruined that of other cities, and I’d gotten used to Coalition Prime so much that any other city looked small. It made sense, though; the capital was always supposed to be the crown jewel, right?

The statue of the soldiers was supposed to have a lot of history behind it. I never bothered to look it up, but the bottom of the statue had the words May we never forget the blood that must be shed in order for our Coalition to exist. That phrase could really hit someone where it hurt. That was kind of the point, right? The UCSO (Unified Coalition Space Operations) was the biggest and probably the most important arm of the UGC, in charge of all the military, science, and exploration missions that the government told them to carry out. This statue was a tribute to them and what they did. Right now, they were the only thing protecting us from the Insurrectionists, the biggest thorn at the Coalition’s side and the kind of people every citizen was afraid of. These guys were ruthless. The more people they shot and blew up, the better. No one knew exactly what they wanted, and personally, I didn’t even think they knew what they wanted.

As far as the statue went, I didn’t think they really expected people to believe that was what war was like. But people had to find inspiration in some way, didn’t they? Even in war.

I decided to head back home before Prallis got too crowded for dinnertime. Plus, I wanted to get home in time because Adeline said that we should do something when she got back. Anniversary Plaza’s restaurants usually got real busy around this time, and if I was right, getting home was going to take longer than it should. I decided to walk a bit faster to try to escape the crowds that would be coming in soon. There were a lot of nice things about Anniversary Plaza; getting smothered in a crowd wasn’t one of them. After a brisk walk through the mall, I had nearly reached the end and felt confident enough that I had escaped the majority of the crowds as people began to swarm in.

But the smirk on my face quickly faded away as a shockwave violently shoved me forward. I placed my arms ahead of me in an attempt to break my fall and started feeling a sharp ringing in my ears. The ringing continued as I struggled to pick myself up.

The ringing was now combined with screams of panic as smoke filled the mall. Fires had been set off in the distance, and the scorching heat only made it worse. The pain in my ears faded as it shifted toward my lower arm. My left arm and hand were scraped and bloodied. If that wasn’t enough, I noticed the side of my head was also cut. It was small enough to cover with a napkin, so I kept the napkin there to prevent the blood from oozing out. People ran in panic, away from the fire. Some were on the ground, and many were bloodied. I had to get the hell out of here.

I started running home, holding up the napkin and covering my wound. As the smoke began to clear, I realized that this was no doubt a bombing attack by those damn Insurrectionists. I knew better than to stick around; the mall had already become a kill zone. Gunshots erupted from the area behind me, and it sent chills down my spine, knowing that it was probably Insurrectionists gunning down any unfortunate survivors from the bombing. That was their style, and it was a big reason why everyone was so scared of them. With every step, I checked my surroundings, prepared to hit the ground the moment anyone pulled out a gun. I was relieved to see a squad of soldiers running toward the chaos.

Citizen, are you injured? asked the squad’s medic as he approached me.

Bleeding a bit, but I’ll be fine as long as I get home. I live close by. He still decided to do a quick check.

Nothing bio-gel won’t fix. Head home and stay safe! He handed me a small tube of bio-gel as he rejoined his squad. I was sure there were more serious injuries he would have to deal with than a few cuts and scrapes.

Additional UCSO troops arrived and started putting up barricades around the mall. I was let through without much trouble since I was clearly injured. The military deployed long-range scanners to scan everyone fleeing the scene, including me. The scanner identified everyone who was at the scene, and they would easily be able to track down anyone who raised their suspicions.

I was finally able to get home, and I immediately began to clean out my wounds before applying the bio-gel. The gel burned ice-cold as it began sealing my wounds. The pain began to dull, and the blood dried up. The first thing I did after that was go to my room to get my stun pistol—a small single-shot yellow pistol that fired stun pellets. I kept it in the house for safety reasons. Robbery wasn’t common in Prallis, but I was not the one to take chances. At a time like this, it was good to have it handy. I changed into cleaner clothes and noticed a message on my phone from my sister. It said she would be home soon. She seemed unaware of what had happened, and she didn’t answer when I called her. I figured closing my eyes a bit would pass the time until she got back. I was still sore from that nasty fall from earlier.

I turned on the TV to figure out what was going on. All the news about the border colonies shifted to what had happened at Anniversary Plaza. The Coalition Network proved my suspicions of an Insurrectionists bombing as I watched the reports of the aftermath of the attack. There were eighty-eight confirmed deaths at the mall and countless others wounded so far. Everyone knew the death count would only get higher. It was sad, really, all those people hurt, me included. That could have just as easily been me, a few minutes—no, a few seconds could have made a difference. I was one of the lucky ones.

Not even the capital was safe. The Insurrectionists have struck the heart of the coalition, and Anniversary Plaza wasn’t the only place in the city that was bombed. A few weeks ago, C-Net was talking about the major attacks on Truilia, Coral Dawn, and Actus IV. All these were places with a large urban population, and now Earth had become the latest victim. There had been a lot of rumors that the Insurrectionists were secretly getting support from the UIP. How much of that was true, I didn’t know. Even though the UIP’s worlds were outside of the UGC’s jurisdiction, the Coalition did whatever it could to keep them at bay. It was no secret that they hated the Coalition, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the rumors were true.

I heard the door open, and my sister rushed in. Anthony, are you all right? Her face turned red when she noticed I was hurt. Oh my gosh, what happened to you? She rushed to my side to inspect my wounds.

I tried my best to reassure her I was okay. You hear about that bombing at Anniversary Plaza? She nodded her head, still worried. I was there and got hurt, but don’t worry. Just a few cuts and scrapes.

Are you sure you’re okay? she asked over and over again.

Yeah. I promise, I’m fine. A medic was there, and he gave me something to patch myself up. Nothing serious happened. I was one of the lucky ones.

She gave me a hug, but that just made things worse.

Ow! That hurts! Let go Adeline, I’m still sore you know!

Oh! I’m so sorry! she said, and she quickly let go and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I ran home as quick as I could when I heard about what happened. The soldiers are putting up checkpoints all across the city. What’s going on?

It’s the Insurrectionists. At least that’s what C-Net says. I drew her attention to the news on TV and told her everything that the news mentioned so far, but I changed the channel when I noticed her looking down and playing with her hair, something she always did when she was nervous or upset.

I’m really glad you’re okay, but I wish I had been there to help you. Or you should have come with me this morning.

Your friends don’t really like me, Adeline.

Yes, they do! They’re just a little…scared of you, but they think you’re nice.

What’s so scary about me? I asked.

Do you really have to ask? Remember that time at the pool? Or that time in art class? Or—

All right, all right, you’ve made your point. I remembered what she was talking about. It was either a time I got into a fight or pulled some nasty prank on someone, but I only did that because they were bothering Adeline. Hey, all that stuff I did was for you, remember?

Yeah, I know.

I thought you didn’t mind.

I don’t, but some of my friends do. That’s why they’re scared. If they get to know you more, I’m sure they’ll love you just as much as I do!

And if they don’t?

They will, and if they don’t, then they’ll just have to deal with it. You’re my brother, and if they’re around me, they should get used to seeing you too.

If there was one thing Adeline was good at, it was making me feel better about myself. She always worried about me. Even we weren’t watching the news anymore, Adeline still looked concerned. She kept looking out the window every second.

I tried to keep her distracted throughout the rest of the day by playing games. We were both good at video games and decently skilled at board games, but card games was where we both shined. If gambling was a real job, Adeline and I would probably be the best in the galaxy.

Gin! I declared while winning my second game in a row, and Adeline wasn’t even close to my score. This was strange. You aren’t feeling it, aren’t you, sis?

Not really. I’m sorry. I’m still scared to death about what happened out there.

I had noticed on the way back that the Julius Diner was still open, Adeline loved the food there, so I suggested we get takeout. Well, will something from Julius make you feel better?

Are you serious? No way. It’s too dangerous out there!

I’m not saying you have to go. I’ll go get us something and be right back.

She grabbed me by the arm. I’m not letting you go out there by yourself!

Look, we can’t let a bombing scare us off like that. Sure, one’s never happened this big or this close to home, but that doesn’t mean we’re gonna live in fear from now on, are we?

No…I guess not, but I’m still scared.

I put my arm around her. Well, I’ll show you that we can still go to our favorite diner and get back safely.

Okay, but I’m going with you, she demanded.

All right. Don’t worry about anything. I’ve never let you down before, right?

Before we left, I tucked my stun pistol into my jacket pocket, keeping it hidden just in case. We went outside, and I made sure the door was locked behind us before leaving. I was a little scared, too, but at the same time, I wanted to show Adeline that we could still do things we liked to do even after suffering an attack so close to where we lived. Whatever the Insurrectionists wanted, fear was what they wanted to get it with, and I wasn’t going to let us live in fear, especially after seeing how nervous my sister was. We had to get back soon, though. The UCSO were stepping up patrols, and we were notified that the military was implementing a curfew that would begin in an hour.

Julius was still open amid the chaos. There were a few people there trying to get something to eat before the curfew started. I asked the last waiter there if they were still taking orders.

Sorry, we’re not cooking any more food. We’re closed, he said. We were regular customers there, but this waiter was new. He didn’t seem to have the same friendliness toward us the other waiters did.

Will five credits keep you guys open long enough for one more order? I waved a five-credit chip in front of me.

Well, I don’t know about five. Ten will do it for sure.

I threw another five credits his way. Jerk, I said under my breath.

He took our order and headed toward the kitchen while Adeline and I waited for our order. A UCSO patrol stood guard outside the entrance to the diner while a few soldiers entered.

You think they’re looking for someone? asked Adeline.

They might be, but don’t worry about it. We didn’t do anything wrong, and with soldiers around, we’re safe.

Made it out all right, didn’t you, citizen? asked a soldier that walked up to us. I recognized him as the medic from earlier.

The bio-gel did the trick. Thanks again, I said, and he nodded in approval. What are you guys up to?

Well, simply put, we’re looking for bad guys, but that’s easier said than done. We’ve got troops scattered in every direction, looking for something, anything that had to do with that the bombings around the city. He glanced over at my sister. Who’s this?

His sister. My name is Adeline, she said as she reached out to shake hands with the medic. You helped save my brother, sir. Is there anything we can do to help?

Well, young lady, as a matter of fact, there is. Your brother here was near the scene of one of the bombings. He looked at me. What’s your name? I’d like to ask you a few things, if you don’t mind.

Name’s Anthony Dawkins. Am I in trouble?

No, nothing like that, Anthony. But can you tell us something, anything about what happened in Anniversary Plaza?

Like what?

Anything unusual or something that was different that you might have noticed?

I tried to remember if there was anything out of the ordinary. I was familiar with the mall, but nothing had caught my eye today. I told the soldier what had happened and also mentioned that the explosion seemed to have come from one of the restaurants.

Restaurant. It makes sense: lots of people, flammable materials, and such. That’s what the Insies go for. Even though I didn’t think anything I said helped out, he still thanked me. Watch yourselves out there, citizens. Be safe.

Your order is ready, said the waiter as he handed it to me.

I heard a loud scream behind me, and I turned around. To my horror, I saw the medic getting stabbed in the back by a hooded attacker. I grabbed Adeline and threw her under the counter, and I got down and lay over her to protect her. A squad of soldiers fired at the attacker, sending him flailing several feet back. I covered Adeline’s eyes, while everyone attempted to escape the restaurant until they were stopped by the soldiers.

Halt! shouted the squad leader. Everyone, remain calm, and stay where you are! No one leaves until properly screened and searched! If anyone tries to escape, you will be shot on sight!

Are you okay, Adeline?

Anthony, I wanna go home now! She began to tear up, and I realized my plan of trying to make Adeline feel safer backfired.

Me too. We’ll rush home once we’re scanned, okay? I promise, nothing’s going to happen to us. We stepped out from under the counter and got in line to be scanned. I grabbed the bag of food.

The soldier began scanning me. Anthony Liam Dawkins, correct?

Yes.

You’re clear. Move along.

He began scanning Adeline. Adeline Trinity Dawkins, correct?

Yes.

You’re clear. Move along. As we stepped outside, I noticed the medic being carried away in a stretcher. At least he was still alive.

Let’s go home before anything else happens, please, said Adeline.

We began walking home at a quick pace, and I started to feel bad for what had happened.

Listen, Adeline, I’m sorry about what happened. I was just trying to help you feel better.

I know, but I still wish we had stayed home. Let’s hurry up. I promise I won’t be scared anymore once we get home, okay? She grabbed my arm and began pulling me behind her as she rushed toward the house.

The city’s PA system announced the curfew. Attention, citizens of Coalition Prime! Attention! The city will be under curfew from 5:00 p.m. until further notice. Citizens are instructed to remain in your homes during this time. If any unauthorized personnel are caught outdoors for any reason, they will be arrested or shot without question. If you or your families require aid, please contact emergency services from an indoor location.

We got home with time to spare until the curfew began.

"Anthony, let’s never ever do that again, okay?"

"Okay, Adeline, you win. Never ever do that again. Got it."

That was a stupid idea!

I know it was. I said I was sorry. It was all my fault. I’m sorry you had to see stuff like that and got scared.

It’s not about that! She put her arms around me. I don’t want anything to happen to us. She started to cry.

But…nothing happened to us. Now don’t cry, Adeline. You know I don’t like it when you cry. I ran my hand along her hair, trying to calm her down. I really screwed up this time, bad.

You…you got hurt today. I…I just want us to be safe, like we’ve always been, like it’s supposed to be. I don’t want to die!

I grabbed her shoulders and looked her in the eye. Listen to me. You’re not gonna die. I’m not gonna die. We’ve had each other’s back since day one, no matter what happens you and me, family. As long as we have that, we’re gonna be all right. I’ve always kept you safe and never broken a promise. You know that, right?

Yeah. Yeah, I do. She started to calm down. You know, Mom and Dad could learn something from you.

I told you not to mention them around me. I didn’t have a mom or a dad, and neither did she. Screw those two big shots. They loved their money a lot more than they loved Adeline and me.

I made sure to close the blinds, seal the windows, and lock all the doors. The curfew meant that anyone that wanted to cause trouble would be out there, taking advantage of the situation. If the Insurrectionists wanted to go head to head with the military, they would probably try to do it now. We completely blocked out whatever