Viper's Hope (Anguis Defenders Book 1)

Viper's Hope

Anguis Defenders Volume 1

Stephanie West

Preface

Hope covered her ringing ears as she stared wide eyed at the molten rock strafing across the sky. It got larger and brighter with the smoke trail parting the horizon. The sudden eruption of water out at sea was cataclysmic as the meteor struck. The wave of water that barreled towards San Francisco a moment later was small at first but grew in size. Hope watched aghast as the water pushed aside massive buildings. She couldn't even fathom the level of devastation occurring in front of her.

As if the tragedy she'd witnessed wasn't enough, something lurked in the trees outside her campsite. Hope watched as a portion of the tree separated from the trunk. The colors morphed into a bronzed, earthy tan figure of a man. The camouflaged man was at least seven feet tall with well-built legs and a massive broad chest. He swayed hypnotically as he walked like some kind of sleek predator. His facial features were not human, yet not altogether frightening. He was an alien, a giant freaking alien, and he was abducting her!

Before the scourge of the universe struck Viper had never aspired to do more than rule his people, but his entire life had changed in the blink of an eye. The tragedy galvanized him with a single-minded purpose to see to it that he defended the Anguis and any other race unfortunate enough to cross paths with the plague and wipe it from existence.

Finding his mate was the farthest thing from his mind as Viper attempted to rescue the humans off the doomed planet. With his own planet in turmoil over aiding so many other species, and the universe at risk from the catastrophic plague, Viper never expected to find Hope.

1 Getting Away From it All

Hope

"I'm glad you made it safe Hope. Now enjoy yourself and relax."

Hope was pretty sure that's what her friend Tara said despite the shitty cell reception.

"I will, I promise. I'm pulled off someplace called the Marin Headlands, and it's got a great view of the bay and bridge. Hey, I better let you go the cell reception sucks. Kisses."

Hope hung up, hoping Tara heard all that.

The view of San Francisco Bay high up here in the headlands was great and Hope was going to do her damnedest to suck it all in.

"I have no excuses. I'd earned this break." Hope sighed as she looked out at the water and the horizon out west. "Work will survive two weeks without me."

Hope planned to commune with nature and maybe regain a fraction of her sanity. She'd just finished the nastiest part of her job lately, which involved jumping through hoops outlined by a government grant the free clinic had received. She would never understand why someone would hand out funds but then make you complete a three-ring circus act, that exhausted just as much time, energy and resources, as the damn money seemed to cover in the first place. She felt like a dancing bear.

Okay maybe it weeded out those that weren't serious or had horrible plans, but it also was difficult for small groups who were doing good things and busting their ass in the process.

The place Hope worked was a not-for-profit community clinic that desperately needed to expand to serve an increasingly larger indigent population. The money they received would help them grow, buy equipment, and start up a residency partnership with the local university.

"Ugh you're doing it again. Stop thinking about work!"

It was easier said than done. Work was her life, literally. It's not like she had a husband and kids, like her sister Faith. Hope served as office manager working more than a forty-hour week, but there was no nobler cause than aiding your fellow man. She also acted as receptionist when Louise wasn't in. Louise was a retired nurse that volunteered three days a week though it probably should've been two. She was supposed to be retired. Hope was pretty sure the woman spent the other two days cooking meals that she shared with them.

Hope giggled as she recalled Louise chastising Tara for being too busy to eat, in her matronly Latina accent.

Tara, Hope's best friend from college, was their head physician. She'd basically inherited the practice fresh out of med school from her uncle. Then there was John Paul their full time nurse, who rounded out her happy little family. Besides her sister and her brood, her co-workers were Hope's family. So it was hard not thinking about work. Well she'd try to not think about the work part of it at least.

The view of San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge was spectacular from this height. Hope could see the city on the island across the bay. Only a few misty clouds floated around the giant red pillars of the bridge. It was crazy how massive that red behemoth looked even from this distance. The cables swooped lazily from tower to tower. The skyscrapers of downtown San Fran looked much smaller from this vantage point. Somewhere down there she'd eaten at the best Burmese restaurant last night. The odd tea leaf salad would no doubt feature in her dreams for years to come.

"Soooo good!" She practically salivated.

That was one thing Hope loved about traveling, all the great new foods.

She couldn't be happier that she pulled off the road to the park. The vantage point up here was picture perfect. The weather great. The fog had lifted, and the breeze was pleasant, not too hot yet though it was almost noon.

"Beautiful." Hope reveled debating grabbing her camera. "I have more than enough time to take it all in and still get to the campsite in time to pitch my tent. Maybe tomorrow I'll go visit the big redwoods up at Muir." She decided as she sat on a rocky outcrop and relaxed.

Viper

"Filius Viper, you should consider going back to your quarters." Canebrake, Viper's Second Imperator, suggested in a way that was more flippant than wise given his station.

The male was a good general but Holy Kadru he was overbearing. Why his nidum siblings never shoved him out of the nest was a mystery. This was hardly Viper's first time on a bridge not to mention he'd been fighting the Morbo just as long as Canebrake had, perhaps longer.

"That's Prognatus Viper to you Second!" Viper's First Imperator and friend, Ophidian, corrected the male as he swept through the door and took the helm.

Viper never cared either way which title was used to refer to him. Of course some used his former and generic title as a means of disrespect. It had been nearly ten years since he'd inherited the elevated title of Prognatus. Though some Anguis viewed that he gained it by default.

Viper could still remember the awful day he and his father received the terrible news that Viper's entire nidum had been lost to the Morbo infection.

Viper's father, Adder, the Rex of Anguis, and mother, Hyla, the Regina, had traveled to an outlying planet on a routine diplomatic tour. It was their duty as Rex and Regina to see to the people's needs. At the time Viper had joined them since he showed the greatest prospect for Prognatus among his siblings, but he was still just Filius Viper, one of many sons in his nidum. Nothing had been made official yet. With the tragic sudden loss of Viper's siblings he instantly became Prognatus Viper, next in line to rule Anguis.

His entire life had changed in the blink of an eye. Viper recalled the sense of desolation and anger that filled him as he watched the news feeds of the mounting death toll on both Anguis Prime and Anguis Minor. The meteors carrying the Morbo scourge had struck both of the planets that orbited similar paths in their system. The devastation was insurmountable. Just learning how to fight the nearly sentient plague had taken too long, adding to the body count. All the while he, his sire and mother sat quarantined off planet, forced to helplessly watch as scores of their family and friends perished.

Before that day Viper had never imagined his life would take the course it now had. He was barely out of his youth when the tragedy struck and yet it galvanized him with a purpose that drove his every action. At one time Viper's aspirations to rule his people seemed lofty enough, but now he strove for more. He would see to it that he defended the Anguis and any other race unfortunate enough to cross paths with the Morbo. It was a cause he'd readily sacrifice his life to attain though goddess willing one day he'd see an end to the wretched scourge.

"Canebrake report." Ophidian barked out.

"We've detected the Morbo asteroid. The Siglis is moving to intercept and fire the tormento."

"How close are we to the H class planet?" Ophidian demanded.

The little H class blue planet was covered with water, it was a perfect environment for the nasty Morbo. The scourge would swarm the planet if they couldn't reach that damn asteroid in time.

"We've almost cleared the asteroid belt at the middle of this solar system."

"Dammit!" Ophidian cursed.

They watched the viewer as the Siglis approached firing range. The Siglis was one of their smaller yet faster offensive ships. It was currently the closest ship to the retched asteroid speeding towards the inhabited blue planet. Their other offensive ships were busting tail to join the foray. Viper hoped they'd reach the speeding rock in time.

"Shit the asteroid is separating ahead of schedule!" Canebrake hollered.

"Siglis bank starboard." Ophidian and Viper yelled out simultaneously as they witnessed the asteroid cleaving.

The asteroid fractured into a dozen pieces as it hit the heavier gravity field near the H planet. A large hunk careened at an odd angle directly into the Siglis. The devastation was instantaneous.

Viper punched the wall, his knuckles cracking, blood quickly rising to the surface. Unfortunately there was no time to mourn their lost brethren.

"How many interceptors do we have that are close?" Viper snarled.

"Three with five more hot on their heels." The male at the console replied.

The blue planet was fast approaching. If they didn't destroy the remaining chunks of the Morbo asteroid, then this would turn into a salvage and rescue mission. It wasn't Viper's first plan, but they'd come prepared for the worst.

Hope

Molten rock strafed across the sky, a shooting star in the middle of the day. The deafening sonic boom rocked the hillside as the bright object lit up the sky. Hope covered her ringing ears as she stared wide eyed at the phenomenon. It got larger and brighter with the smoke trail parting the horizon.

"Holy crap, HOLY CRAP a METEOR!"

It just kept coming. Her first thought was to get in the rental car and drive fast, but there was no way to tell where the flaming ball would strike. Hope watched relieved as the projectile crossed over the cityscape. It looked like the meteor would hit somewhere out in the ocean.

"Thank God!" Hope sighed as it disappeared from view where the ocean met the sky off on the western horizon.

The sudden eruption of water out at sea was cataclysmic. It reminded her of an A-bomb. She didn't know how far out it struck but that had to be more than just water that burst into the air. Despite all the water that rained back down on the horizon, the forceful impact of the rock left so much vapor and debris hanging in the air it darkened the sky. The mist and a violent wind quickly swept into the bay, buffeting the rocky hillside.

Hope's damp blonde hair whipped at her face as she ran to the car, hopped in and turned to watch through the windshield. She'd never witnessed anything of this proportion, it was frightening, awesome and humbling. Hope's ears were still ringing as the bulk of the water continued its descent back down towards the ocean surface. It was doing more that misting now, the rain fell like a hurricane. Thankfully the bits of debris didn't crack the car windows as it pelted the earth, like hail.

Hope turned on the wipers in time to see the water in the bay recede towards the ocean, the tide rapidly rushing out.

"Shit, this can't be good!"

The wave of water that barreled towards San Francisco a moment later was small at first but grew in size as in reached the island shore. Hope watched with her mouth agape in shock as it reached the height of the Golden Gate Bridge then crashed down onto the populated island. She stared silently as the water pushed aside massive buildings. She couldn't even fathom the level of devastation occurring in front of her.

"Oh God all those people!" She choked.

Instinct pushed through the panic and adrenalin that coursed through her, telling her to move! Immediately Hope started assessing where she was and where she needed to go to ensure her survival. Hope was high enough up, she felt safe from the tsunami, but what about the resulting chaos?

The Golden Gate made a groaning noise as it rocked from the onslaught. Suddenly a massive cable snapped. Hope could see the battered cars being swept over the bridge into the churning bay.

She couldn't watch anymore. Hope threw the car into drive and pulled out onto the road. She took the first road that led up and north away from the ravaged city. Hope didn't realize she was shaking and crying till she'd been driving fifteen minutes without slowing down. Her knuckles were white as they gripped the wheel.

"If you don't calm down you're going to wreck." She admonished herself and slowed to a more reasonable speed on the winding wet road.

Viper

Canvasing alien forests for viable flora and fauna samples, as they scouted the damage from the Morbo asteroid and gathered up survivors, was always exhilarating.

The dark, hairy, nine foot tall beast in front of Viper was one of those interesting specimens. The thing was barrel-shaped with claws and a long muzzle full of teeth that currently roared its displeasure at his presence. It could probably do a number on him, but Viper wasn't bothered. He was more intrigued by the majestic hairy predator.

"Sorry big guy, if you're going to survive you need to come with me." Viper told the creature as his current partner, Mamba, trained the tranquilizer on the disgruntled beast.

"I've got him, Prognatus Viper." Mamba fired striking the animal in the neck.

The beast charged and Viper jumped into the tall coniferous tree at his back. The angry beast dropped to the leaf littered ground with a grunt, fast asleep, dreaming of a hairy female beasts or perhaps a Viper dinner.

"You got this one Mamba? I'm going to continue forward." Viper inquired as he leapt down from the branch.

The mercenary nodded as he started prepping the creature for transport to the ship.

Viper's generals were out with recon and rescue vehicles focused on the sentient population. Though his Imperators refused to admit it, they viewed Viper as too valuable to risk his hide with the potentially aggressive people that occupied the planet. It was for the best, Viper was still amped up at their failure to stop four of the nine sections of the Morbo asteroid before they struck the planet atmosphere. Viper hadn't argued with his generals. Instead he opted to head up this crew and salvage what they could of this planet's unique ecosystem.