The Fall: Crimson Worlds IX (33 page)

It wasn’t just radiation Earth’s survivors faced, but virulent plagues and huge areas contaminated with toxic chemicals.  Earth’s Superpowers had unleashed every fearsome weapon they possessed during their flailing death struggles.  Thousands more would die each day, succumbing to radiation sickness, disease, starvation.  It would be years before the hell that had been unleashed receded, probably decades.  The human suffering that would occur over those years was incalculable.

Cain stared at the deceptive beauty of the blue planet below, and he imagined what it was like to be down on its scarred surface, amid the suffering and desperation.  For an instant he thought he should delay the departure, go down there himself to see what man’s folly had wrought.  But he shook his head and turned slowly away.  Earth, whatever it had become, was his past, and he had time only for the future.

The sea air was blowing across the rocky beach, carrying with it a heady mix of pine trees and the scents of the ocean.  Erik walked slowly down the beach, enjoying the cool water washing over his bare feet.  Sarah was next to him, brushing back her hair, wild and frizzy in the salty air.

They had come to Atlantia years ago, before revolution had swept the Alliance’s colonies and launched them into more than a decade of almost non-stop warfare.  Of all the places they had been, the rugged coastline of this idyllic world had called out to them both, and they had decided to make a home there.

Though they had both retired from active duty, they had other responsibilities, and they spent no more than half the year on Atlantia.  Most of the rest of the time they were on Armstrong.  Cain still had duties at the Academy, teaching to the vastly shrunken class of new cadets.  Most of the old campus had been destroyed in the war against the Shadow Legions, but the few remaining buildings had been adequate to serve the needs of a vastly shrunken Corps.

Sarah was a director of the vast Marine hospital, now in the process of opening much of its unused space to serve the needs of the growing city of Astria.  The damage from the fighting on Armstrong had mostly been repaired, and the planet and its capital city were growing, stepping up to take its place among the first tier of colony worlds, alongside planets like Arcadia and Columbia.

Cain could hardly believe it had been two years since the last confrontation in the Sol system.  The final moments of his battle with Stark had faded to a blur, and the terrible rage and vengeance that had driven him had begun to mellow into a sense of satisfaction over the accomplishment.  He still had nightmares – he suspected he always would.  But he’d also found some peace…and contentment.  He’d always mourn for the friends and comrades he’d lost, but he’d come to realize they would want him to go on, to live his life.

“What time is the ceremony?”  He turned and looked back at Sarah.

“In about 3 hours.”  She returned his gaze with a warm smile.  “We should head back if you want time to shower and change.”

Atlantia’s inhabitants lived mostly along a winding, rocky coast that resembled Earth’s New England, before it had been ravaged by war, pollution, and finally, nuclear holocaust.  The planet was as close to a pristine paradise as any world man had found in the vastness of space, and its people tended to move at their own pace.  Most of the former Alliance colonies had erected monuments of one kind or another – to the Corps, the fleet, or the individual heroes of the wars.  But Atlantia was just getting around to dedicating its own, and General Erik Cain and Colonel Sarah Linden, as the colony’s two most famous residents, were the guests of honor, despite their protestations.

Cain sighed.  “Well, they’re not going to let us out of this, so we might as well go get ready.”  He smiled and leaned in, kissing her gently.  The morning sun was beating down on them, creating just enough warmth in the cool fall air.  He wanted to stay where right where he was, but he understood duty, even if it had become something far less dangerous and burdensome that it once had been.  “Let’s go,” he said, and took her hand as they walked back toward the house.

The statue wasn’t a massive, hulking monument, like so many others he’d seen.  It was simple, a little larger than life perhaps, but not inordinately so.  It was a Marine, armored and standing at the ready, prepared to face whatever danger threatened.

Cain stared up at it, his eyes fixed on the bright new bronze.  It wasn’t a statue of General Holm or Admiral Garret - or even one of him - like so many worlds had erected.  Indeed, it wasn’t a general at all depicted up on the small marble pillar, nor even a junior officer.  The Atlantians had built their tribute not to the commanders, not to the famous warriors covered in glory.  They had chosen to salute the common Marine instead, the steadfast warrior who had done so much to buy mankind a chance at a future, paying with their blood more often than not.

Cain took Sarah’s hand in his and he turned to leave, pausing for a last instant and smiling.  He had served with that Marine, he thought, and thousands like him.  Indeed, he had been that Marine long years before.  They were all heroes, those who survived their service to see their own chance at a peaceful life, as he had…and those who’d fallen, the men and women who’d paid the price of freedom.  Elias Holm, Darius Jax…and a legion of Marines just like them.

Cain had seen many monuments in the two years following the end of the war, some of them vast and overwhelming.  But he decided this was his favorite.  A simple honor to the Marines who had stood on the front lines, facing anything that threatened mankind.  He stopped and turned back one last time, silently paying his respects to friends lost.  Then he turned toward Sarah.  He took her hands in his and he smiled.  They had made it together, and the future was now.

The Crimson Worlds Saga Continues!

Introducing Two New Series

Available for Pre-Order Now!

Crimson Worlds Successors I

Release Date:  March 24, 2015

Available NOW for Pre-Order

Earth has been a scarred ruin for three decades, its scattered people struggling to survive amid the poisoned and radioactive wreckage of the final war between its despotic Superpowers.  But out on the frontier, on a thousand worlds, mankind thrives and grows, building new civilizations and looking boldly to the future.  But man has never been able to live in peace, and even Earth’s sad fate has failed to slow the call to war.

Most of the colonies lack the industry and economic power to sustain their own armies and navies, and they look to the mercenaries of the Great Companies for aid in time of war.  These futuristic condottiere contract themselves to the highest bidder, and the mightiest strike fear into the hearts of all who opposed them.

Darius Cain is the leader of the Black Eagles, the most renowned of all the Companies.  A military genius, he has led his undefeated warriors from victory to victory.  The Eagles command the highest rates of any of the Companies, and leaders bankrupt their worlds to pay their price.

But amid the ruins of Earth and on planets all across occupied space there are signs of a greater darkness, a force working in the shadows, waiting for the right moment to strike, to launch a final war to reduce all mankind to slavery.

As Cain slowly uncovers the truth, he must forge an alliance among old enemies, the other Companies his men have fought for years…and the twin brother he hasn’t seen in a decade.

The Crimson Worlds are about to explode into a war that may be mankind’s last.

Crimson Worlds Refugees I

Release Date:  June 23, 2015

Available NOW for Pre-Order

Terrence Compton is one of Earth’s greatest admirals, a warrior almost without equal.  Alongside his oldest friend and brilliant colleague, Augustus Garret, he and his forces saved Earth from invasion by the robotic legions of the First Imperium’s insane computer Regent.

There is just one problem.  The First Imperium was cut off from Earth by the destruction of the sole warp gate connecting the two domains…and Compton and 300 of his ships are trapped on the wrong side, surrounded by the enemy and cut off from Earth.

Pursued by their deadly enemy, Compton and his fleet must flee into the darkness of unexplored space, seeking a new home.  Their journey will take them deep into the heart of the First Imperium, to the silent, windswept worlds where the ancient raced that built the Regent once dwelled…and uncover the lost secrets of their disappearance 500,000 years ago.

Tombstone (A Crimson Worlds Prequel)

Bitter Glory (A Crimson Worlds Prequel)

The Gates of Hell (Crimson Worlds Prequel)

Marines (Crimson Worlds I)

The Cost of Victory (Crimson Worlds II)

A Little Rebellion (Crimson Worlds III)

The First Imperium (Crimson Worlds IV)

The Line Must Hold (Crimson Worlds V)

To Hell’s Heart (Crimson Worlds VI)

The Shadow Legions (Crimson Worlds VII)

Even Legends Die (Crimson Worlds VIII)

Gehenna Dawn (Portal Worlds I)

The Ten Thousand (Portal Wars II)

The Dragon's Banner (Pendragon Chronicles I)

MERCS

(Crimson Worlds: Successors I)

(March 24, 2015)

Available for Pre-Order Now
!

Into the Darkness

(Crimson Worlds: Refugees I)

(June 23, 2015)

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!

Dragon Rising

(The Last War I)

(Summer 2015)

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