Revolution calling, p.1
Revolution Calling, page 1
Revolution Calling
Book Four of The Last Marines
by
William S. Frisbee, Jr.
PUBLISHED BY: Theogony Books
Copyright © 2022 William S. Frisbee, Jr.
All Rights Reserved
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License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only and may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
This book is a work of fiction, and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events, or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.
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Cover Design by J Caleb Design.
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Contents
Chapter One: VRS Ovela Kostaya
Chapter Two: Tristan – Fleet
Chapter Three: Silence
Chapter Four: Boarded
Chapter Five: Jason’s Pit
Chapter Six: Inkeri
Chapter Seven: Jason’s Pit
Chapter Eight: The Generator
Chapter Nine: Trouble
Chapter Ten: End Battle
Chapter Eleven: Goofy Galaxy
Chapter Twelve: Missing
Chapter Thirteen: Mental Warning
Chapter Fourteen: Sif and Feng
Chapter Fifteen: Blue Cylinder
Chapter Sixteen: Rapid Departure
Chapter Seventeen: Station War
Chapter Eighteen: Station War
Chapter Nineteen: Escape from Weapons Store
Chapter Twenty: Freedom
Chapter Twenty-One: Stathis Alive
Chapter Twenty-Two: Stathis Lives
Chapter Twenty-Three: Negotiations
Chapter Twenty-Four: Jason’s Hell
Chapter Twenty-Five: Internal War
Chapter Twenty-Six: Hallways
Chapter Twenty-Seven: End Cap
Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Docks
Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Docks 2
Chapter Thirty: Service Areas
Chapter Thirty-One: Warrens
Chapter Thirty-Two: Kurtz
Chapter Thirty-Three: Paska Lounas
Chapter Thirty-Four: Rescuing Gunny
Chapter Thirty-Five: Trapped
Chapter Thirty-Six: Families Attack
Chapter Thirty-Seven: Advance
Chapter Thirty-Eight: The Docks-1
Chapter Thirty-Nine: Link Up
Chapter Forty: Return to Eagle
Chapter Forty-One: USS Eagle
Chapter Forty-Two: USS Eagle 2
Chapter Forty-Three: The Dream
Chapter Forty-Four: Shorr Space
Chapter Forty-Five: Hostile Boarding
Chapter Forty-Six: Boarding
Chapter Forty-Seven: Crippled
Chapter Forty-Eight: Medlab
Chapter Forty-Nine: Horrors
Chapter Fifty: Survival
Chapter Fifty-One: Lost
Chapter Fifty-Two: Inkeri-1
Chapter Fifty-Three: Inkeri Weapon
Chapter Fifty-Four: Back into Shorr Space
Chapter Fifty-Five: New Pharaoh
Chapter Fifty-Six: Screwed
Chapter Fifty-Seven: Insertion
Chapter Fifty-Eight: Space Port
Chapter Fifty-Nine: Space Port 2
Chapter Sixty: Space Lich
Chapter Sixty-One: Undead Creature
Chapter Sixty-Two: Sly Snake
Chapter Sixty-Three: Counterattack
Chapter Sixty-Four: Another Counterattack
Chapter Sixty-Five: Power
Chapter Sixty-Six: Awakening
Chapter Sixty-Seven: Inkeri-2
Chapter Sixty-Eight: Ghost Colony
Chapter Sixty-Nine: Fleets
Chapter Seventy: Dad
Chapter Seventy-One: Drop
Chapter Seventy-Two: Hulk
Chapter Seventy-Three: Rescued
Chapter Seventy-Four: SOG Fleet
Chapter Seventy-Five: HKTs
Chapter Seventy-Six: Feng
Chapter Seventy-Seven: Evac
Chapter Seventy-Eight: Eagle
Chapter Seventy-Nine: Meeting
Chapter Eighty: Eagle-1
About William S. Frisbee, Jr.
Excerpt from Book One of the Chimera Company:
Excerpt from Book One of the Abner Fortis, ISMC:
Excerpt from Book One of the Echoes of Pangaea:
Excerpt from Book One of the Lunar Free State:
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Chapter One: VRS Ovela Kostaya
F
Aesir Halfred Theisen - VRAC
Wham!
Aesir Korporal Halfred Thiesen felt the drop pod shift back to the loading area of VRS Ovela Kostaya as something slammed into it.
“Marauders, the SOG fleet has been defeated by unknown forces under unknown circumstances. We are detecting SOG identifiers among the attackers, so they might be rebels, but they are also moving to engage us. We are leaving,” Lojtnant Pollon said. “Standby for transition to Shorr space. It will be a short jump to deep space.”
“Great,” Orm said. “We don’t get to kill any Soggies today.”
“Or get killed by them, nyyppä,” Saska said, a smile in her voice. Nyyppä meant noobs. Orm was the most junior member of the team, although he had been an Aesir for close to three years.
They were strapped into their drop pod and couldn’t move. Being enclosed in a drop pod with three other Aesir was claustrophobic, and you couldn’t move. It was easy to panic, and Aesir spent a lot of time training to withstand such situations. Nobody liked it, but with proper conditioning, it was amazing what people could adjust to.
A shiver ran down Halfred’s spine as the ship made transition, but unlike other transitions, he felt nauseous this time.
“Marauders,” the lojtnant said, “prepare to stand down.”
Saska was their team lead. Halfred was second in command of the team, technically a korporal, but basically a glorified private first class. Orm Korhonen and Fasolt Justi were the other Aesir on Team Saska, and Halfred barely outranked them. They were good guys though.
The assault pod was slammed again, and Halfred’s heads up display filled with interference. That wasn’t normal. Even in Shorr space, there shouldn’t be problems like this. A problem with the pod launch mechanism and his helmet? What would have happened planet side? He would have to check it again.
“That’s not normal,” Alikersantti Saska said, echoing Halfred’s thought. Her voice, which was usually crystal clear, was now scratchy. Whatever was affecting his display was also interfering with the communication links.
Orm laughed nervously.
“Good one,” Orm said, his voice fuzzy. “How are you interfering with my display and comm link?”
Thiesen’s platoon, one of two, Urho-Lauri-Niilo, ULN, had been preparing to drop on the SOG planet Zhukov as part of Task Force Ragnar, the largest military operation in Vapaus Republic history. The Republic didn’t conduct planetary assaults because they didn’t have enough troops to launch a sustained attack. Until thirty minutes ago, their objective was a tertiary command-and-control facility at a starport. Not the point of main effort, but Theisen didn’t doubt how critical it could be. Other teams would be tasked with damaging SOG property and stealing SOG secrets. It was ULN Platoon’s duty to make sure they had free rein to do so. But clearly, the situation around Zhukov had changed if their part of the operation had been canceled.
Alarms went off. Not something you ever wanted to hear in Shorr space unless it was a drill. Even though they were linked to the ship’s system, there wasn’t much they could do. They were in Shorr space. What could go wrong?
“What does that mean?” Fasolt asked nervously as dread tried to smother Halfred. He remembered this feeling. It had been a while, but one never forgot what it had been like before they started equipping Republic ships with the inkeri generators.
“Inkeri generator failure,” Saska said. “No reason to stress, nyyppä. We used to suffer this all the time.”
“But why did we stop?” Fasolt asked. He sounded just as bad as Orm.
“Ice it,” Saska said. “You know the Vanir; probably just screwing with us.”
The alarm tone changed. The Aesir combat network briefly lit up, showing other Aesir, and then it lit with red enemy markers before flashing out.
“Intruder alert?” Halfred asked, recognizing the markers. “What a stupid time to hold a stupid drill.”
A drill would be dangerous right now because everyone had live ammunition. There was no way enemy forces could have boarded the ship. They had not engaged in combat, and they were in Shorr space. The Vanir were getting stupid and had to be taking out their frustration on the Aesir.
“Marauders,” the lojtnant said over the platoon link. There was something odd about the platoon leader’s voice, an
“How could this not be a drill?” Fasolt asked. “We can’t get boarded in Shorr space.”
“We aren’t going anywhere,” Saska said. “Not stuck in this pod.”
“Marauders,” the lojtnant said. “Rally in the pod boarding chamber. Platoon Urho-Lauri-Bertta is dispersing to key locations. Platoon Urho-Lauri-Niilo assemble in pod chamber.”
“ULN One,” Saska said on the squad link. “This is ULN-Two-Two. We are still in our pod, unable to egress.”
Kersantti Skarde, the squad leader, took a while to reply.
“Zen,” the kersantti said and Halfred heard weapons fire. “Find a way. We—”
“Kersantti?” Saska said.
“Kersantti is down,” an Aesir said on the link. “SOG genetic constructs have boarded us. I’ll have Elo try to get the gears moving again.”
“Zen,” Saska said.
“We need to get out now,” Fasolt said. Halfred could tell he was panicking, and it was contagious. “Now!”
“Ice it,” Saska said, but she was on edge. Halfred felt the same way.
There were explosive bolts designed to detach the heat shield, but that wouldn’t do a bit of good in a closed, confined space like the drop pod barrel. Blazers might punch a hole through the heat shield but firing this close would also wound the shooter.
Someone started screaming. Orm?
“Gods! Gods!”
Halfred felt his skin crawl like there were bugs in his suit with him. Something began whispering in his ear. Halfred tried to turn to see who or what was in the pod with him, but he couldn’t move.
“What is that? Who’s whispering!” Fasolt said. “This isn’t funny, dammit. Get me out of here. Gods. I want out now!”
Fasolt and Orm fell silent, and Halfred saw Saska had muted them. Halfred felt the pod shake as at least one of them struggled in their panic to get free. Even in powered armor, they were stuck fast.
“How are you doing Halfred?” Saska asked.
“Breathing,” Halfred said, doing his best. This is all in my head. Just some mind game. Somebody playing a joke. Some kind of prank; screwing with us. Bastard Vanir had done shit like this before. Shorr space could be like that. Kiska Syndrome was all in a person’s head. He remembered all the briefings and had seen all the documentaries; it was nothing to worry about. He wasn’t about to die, but maybe he was? The bastards had turned off the inkeri and were running a drill.
He took one deep breath after another, concentrated on breathing. As long as he did that, he was alive. Why did the drop pod have to be so damned tight and confining? What if his air stopped? He would stop breathing.
“Don’t stop breathing,” Saska said as if reading his mind. “Never stop that.”
Something slammed into the drop pod, and it felt like the pod was moving. Then it stopped again.
“They have infected us with something,” an Aesir said. “Lojtnant’s down. Ylikerstanti is down. Gods. What is happening?”
“Stay calm Huhta,” Saska said. “Get us out of this damned pod, and we can help.”
“We are doomed,” Huhta said, and Halfred felt his hands shaking in their gauntlets.
“No,” Saska said. “We are Aesir. We are the blades of our people. We do not fail.”
“No,” Huhta said, and Halfred bit the inside of his lip to stop from screaming.
“I hear now,” Huhta said, his voice growing deeper.
“Let us out of here, damn you!” Saska screamed. “We are Aesir! Bound together through blood and tears. We are the blades of our people. Let us out!”
“No,” Huhta said, and Halfred could barely understand him.
“Kinsmen to kinsmen should be true,” Saska yelled.
“Kinsmen—” Huhta said. He seemed to struggle. Then the pod started moving again. “Avenge us—” The interference twisted Huhta’s voice so much it no longer sounded human.
Halfred closed his eyes tightly as the whispering in his ear grew louder and Orm or Fasolt struggled harder to escape. They couldn’t get out, but they could hurt themselves.
This had to be a drill. It had to be some weird test. He would pass. Maybe it was just him. Everyone else was having a good laugh while he underwent some Jaeger or Erikoisjoukot test.
Please? It had to be a test. Halfred tried to smile at how scared he was. It was a good one. He wouldn’t break, though. He would not let his fear control him. He would not succumb. He was Aesir. He was a blade of the Republic.
The pod slammed to a stop, but he didn’t know where they were. Then he felt what had to be an explosion smash it off the cradle. The pod rolled; it was out of the tube, but gravity told him he was on his side. There would be no mechanism to remove the heat shield.
“Blowing bolts,” Saska said.
Halfred hoped nobody was nearby, but he wanted out of this pod so much he didn’t care.
The explosive bolts detonated and shook him, leaving him stunned, but the shell was broken. Halfred kicked the shield out of the way, while slapping his release button. He fell out onto the deck of a nightmare.
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Chapter Two: Tristan – Fleet
SOG Scientist Tristan Malloy
“Standby for transition in five minutes,” the system-wide intercom reported. “All hands should report to battle stations. Transition will be ten seconds.”
“Battle stations?” Tristan asked. “We are going into battle?”
“We won’t be in any real danger,” Kari said. Kari was the only person who talked to Tristan, and Kari’s curiosity was insufferable. Since Skadi and the others had left, Tristan had seen nobody else except Vanir crew, who scowled at him, and Aesir who ignored him.
Kari was nice enough, but he gave Tristan the creeps, almost as much as the alien. Maybe it was because the alien ghost said Kari “did not originate in current causality within dimensional adjudication. Multiple transitions have been detected, implying corruption and adjustment of source cognizance. Destination transition not identifiable. New entity accepts multiple sources of adjudication and causality.”
Did that mean that Kari was an alien too? And Kari could see the ghost, which made him different from the others. So, was Tristan more like Kari or was there another reason he could see the alien? The hulking soldiers and the ship’s crew always showed deference to Kari like he was a well-connected member of the political elite.
And now they were going into battle. Battle was dangerous. You didn’t go into a battle that wasn’t dangerous. People tried to kill you in battle. Why hadn’t Kari told him?
“Why?” Tristan asked, trying to remain calm.
“We will be supporting a Republic operation,” Kari said. “Sorry, I can’t tell you more. Operational security. We’ll be deploying a platoon of Aesir, but we won’t be part of the main wall.”
“What wall?” Tristan asked. Space battles made no sense to him.
Kari nodded like it was an intelligent question.
“Several capital ships will make up the primary wall the enemy can slam into,” Kari said. “They will shield us and the other support craft. Your battle station is in your quarters, which are fully self-contained in the highly unlikely event we suffer damage. Your bed acts as a crash couch and survival pod.”
“A storm, on the beach, the waves are rising to crash against the shore. Predators smell prey and come closer to land. Some may be cast upon the beach where they will devour. Some may metamorphose, birthed to savagery where the embers will change them to survive on the beach, inviting the ocean to swirl in the storm,” the alien said.
Tristan hated the alien. He wanted nothing to do with it, but he couldn’t escape it without a lot of alcohol and the Republic bastards refused to let him drink himself into oblivion. Right now, the alien was looking between him and Kari. It could obviously see Kari and seemed aware of the man’s presence.
Tristan dutifully relayed this to Kari. He hoped Kari understood what the alien was talking about. It sounded like so much garbage to Tristan.
