Revelations: The Inquisitor Chronicles - Book 2 R. E. Graham Science Fiction Space Opera Read online

  Legal Notice

  “Revelations: The Inquisitor Chronicles” – Book 2

  Copyright © 2018 written by Richard Graham. All rights reserved.

  This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this book are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  This book may not be copied or duplicated in whole or in part via any means including electronic forms of duplication such as audio or video recording or transcription. The contents of this book may not be stored in any retrieval system, transmitted, or otherwise copied for any use whether public or private, other than brief quotations contained in articles or reviews which fall under the “fair use” exception, without express prior permission of the author.

  First Edition: August 2018

  This book is dedicated to Jesus, for without Him I wouldn’t even be on this path of being an author in the first place…

  Acknowledgements

  I want to take a quick moment to thank a couple of people that have specifically helped to make this book you have in your hands possible. Without a doubt, my biggest support has been my amazing wife Erin. She has put up with a lot from my creativity in this project and has been more than happy to help in any way she can, even when I am talking about things she has no idea about. She truly is a companion that any man would be extremely blessed and fortunate to have alongside through life. The next person would be my friend Jerry. Even when he has had crazy things going on in his life he still found time to read early drafts, help with online discussions on our Facebook page and more. He is a true friend.

  Thank You

  To all my patrons who support the growth and development of the Revelations Universe through patreon.com, I want to take a special moment to thank you specifically by name…

  Jerry Hahn

  Alyssa Taravella

  If you would like to add your name to this page, please visit us on Patreon at: www.patreon.com/revelationswar

  Glossary

  Revelations is set in a universe where humanity does not originate from Earth. As such, some of the terms we use in our daily lives is not quite the same that they use. I have included this section to help you better understand the words and their definitions without it slowing down the pace of the story.

  Stonecrete: [stone-creet] Very similar to our modern-day concrete but much stronger and doesn’t break down as poorly with time.

  Rotation: Equivalent to our 24-hour day. The length of a rotation is how long it takes any planet to orbit around its star.

  Cycle: Equivalent to one cycle of rotations around a star.

  Communicator: Similar to a cellphone with even more robust features and capabilities.

  Standard: This is the primary language that citizens in the Corre Republic speak. Most other nations have Standard as their main language or at least teach their children so that they can still understand it.

  Synthetic: A Synthetic is an Artificial Intelligence (or AI) that controls a humanoid like body that fought in the massive war for survival between the nations of humanity and The Collector.

  ANE: After Near Extinction (or more commonly known as ANE) was a new epoch that began to signify humanity’s survival against the Syn Armada.

  Cuso: [coo-soe] The currency used in the Corre Republic.

  Overloader: Essentially a weapon that creates a small electromagnetic pulse used to temporarily disable electronics.

  Prefect Major: The Prefect Major is the leader of the entire Corre Republic. There are many other positions under this rank that assist in ruling, but whatever the Prefect Major says goes. The senate plays the role of the legislative branch of the Republic’s government and can affect policy. While the senate is elected from the planets’ citizens, the Prefect Major is chosen from the other Prefects that rule the 10 prefectures.

  Prefect: There are 10 prefectures within the Corre Republic, and one Prefect rules over the worlds within that prefecture.

  Governor: A governor is the ruler over a world. There is one governor per world in the Corre Republic.

  All Father: The omni-potent all-powerful god of The Will religion. It is said that the All Father created all life and existence. Success, power, strength and dominion is promoted highly in The Will’s holy book.

  The Creator: With His voice He created all of existence. The Creator is the godhead of the Light Bringer faith and has been hated for a long time in the Corre Republic as it calls its believers to deny themselves unlike The Will religion that promotes self.

  Chapter 1

  Cycle: 412 Month: 7 Rotation: 8

  Prefecture: Siimon

  Planet: Eden

  Location: Outside the atmosphere of Eden

  Beams of soft daylight illuminated the homely kitchen through the small windows. Damien Varius opened a cabinet and pulled his favorite teal colored cup from its home. He shuffled his feet over to the countertop brew machine and placed his cup underneath the spout.

  “Beverage?” the machine chirped with a mechanical voice.

  “Kava. Dark” Damien said groggily. He rubbed his hand through his short hair as he opened his eyes wide to help wake up. His mouth couldn’t resist the urge to yawn as his body urged him to return to bed.

  The delicious aroma of kava filled his nostrils as it began to brew and dispense into his cup. As the task was finished, the machine beeped.

  Damien lifted up his mug and took a deep breathe to enjoy the captivating smell. He blew some of the steam away before taking his first sip.

  “Mmm…” he said as he walked out of the kitchen and entered the living room. Large glass windows overlooked a well-kept yard with various flowers and hedges strategically placed for visual appeal.

  He would never tell anyone, but this right here was his favorite place to be in the morning. Probably out of all the worlds he had ever visited.

  Suddenly he was jolted from his serenity as two slender arms reached around his waist. “Good morning my love.”

  Varius turned around and smiled at the sight of his beautiful wife. “Good morning Sara” he said as he leaned in to kiss her on the lips.

  “How did you sleep?” the husband asked his wife as she embraced him further.

  The wife exhaled happily. “Wonderfully. I’m so happy that you are home for good.”

  Varius looked at his wife with lived filled eyes, “So am I. I can finally take care of the two most important people in my life.”

  Sara reached up and gracefully took the mug from her husband’s muscular hand. She took a sip and a smile spread across her face. Suddenly her face changed to shock and her posture turned serious.

  “What is it?” Varius asked as he turned around to see a masked man that stood in the hallway. He gripped a large black pistol in his hand. Small trails of smoke lifted up from the end of the barrel of the handgun. Why was it smoking?

  The husband looked down to see blood covered his right hand and that his robe was soaked in blood. His blood. Did I get shot?

  Sara dropped the mug and ran out of the room and headed for the stairs. The teal cup exploded on the polished stone floor sending shards of the mug and kava splattering across it.

  Varius tried to scream out, tried to fight, but he could do nothing. He was completely frozen, no, paralyzed. The masked man laughed cruelly as he holstered his handgun and drew a knife from his boot.

  The husband did everything he could to move his body, but it was impossible. He watched in horror as the masked man wa
lked passed him and followed after his wife.

  A moment later Varius could hear Sara scream as something broke in the other room. “No! No! Nooooo…aaaaaaaah…”

  “Raaaaaaaaah!” Varius shouted as he woke from his nightmare. He breathed heavily, like some kind of vicious beast.

  The Inquisitor looked about his small quarters as his brain identified that he was aboard the ship taking him to Eden. He slumped back down against the wall of the bunk and wiped a tear away from his eye. Several more moments passed as he forced his body to calm down. That was when he realized he was covered in sweat beneath his inquisitor uniform.

  After he wiped his forehead clear from the beads of sweat that had formed he noticed the charm bracelet his daughter had given him laid next to him. He stretched it out with his right hand and reached his left hand through it. Delicately, Varius tucked it into his left sleeve.

  After receiving secret orders from Director Seneca of the Bureau of Central Intelligence, Varius was sent to Eden to investigate a failed uprising lead by an Eva Primus and her Eden’s Forgotten Legion. Currently he was on his way to the industrial planet aboard a public transport vessel. This mission was anything but typical. Normally, an inquisitor would be transported by a government freighter at the very least, but the need for secrecy meant he had to travel more incognito.

  With little grace he slung his boots off the bunk and slouched on his knees. He checked the gauntlet on his left forearm to see the time. Most citizens liked to wear a hora if they were in need of timekeeping, but inquisitors issued left gauntlet had all sorts of tools and applications built into it to assist them on missions. Varius liked to keep his time display on a dual setting. The primary was for time back on Foundation to know what time it was for the Bureau of Central Intelligence in case he needed to contact them and the other for time of the world he was being sent to.

  He rubbed his eyes with his left hand trying to clear his mind from the nightmare. These dreams seem to be happening more often.

  A beeping signal emitted from a speaker built into the wall of the small room. “This is the Captain, we are about to enter the atmosphere of Eden. All passengers should buckle in and hang tight. We will be planetside shortly.”

  Varius stood up from his bunk and sat down in a cushioned chair to his right. He reached behind him to grab the left side half of the harness and slid his arm through. After doing the same with his right arm he buckled the harness together and closed his eyes to further ease his mind. The shuttle began to shake as it made its descent towards the planet below.

  Several minutes passed and the ship entered the gravity of Eden just before an incredible explosion rocked the vessel, violently thrashing all the passengers and crew.

  Again, the intercom beeped. “This is Captain Harris. Abandon ship. I repeat, abandon ship. Get to the nearest…”

  Varius didn’t even finish listening to the Captain’s orders. He unbuckled himself, grabbed his bag that he had kept in a steel locker along the wall and did his best to stumble down the hallway. Bright red alarm lights flashed and a loud warning blared through the speakers throughout the ship.

  Several crew members scrambled passed the Inquisitor as he found the ladder leading down to the hangar. He shouldered his bag before the shuttle began to spiral intensely slamming him into the wall and pinning him there from the inertia.

  With all his might he fought to slide across the wall until he could grip the ladder with his right hand. He pulled himself towards the ladder just as the ship eased out of the tumble.

  Varius took advantage of the respite in the ships violent fall and slid down the ladder. His boots loud boom echoed off the hangar as he hit the deck.

  The hangar was nothing like it was when he was here hours before. Crates, tools and other miscellaneous items looked as if a violent windstorm just blew through. Parts and debris laid about all over the place. Thankfully his massive Spade WarMech remained anchored in place in a kneeling position, cockpit left open.

  He ran in full sprint towards the all black colored Spade. As he reached its left knee he grabbed hold of the rope ladder extending down from the cockpit. After getting several steps up the shuttle began tilting to the side causing Varius to float weightlessly into the air.

  “Raaaah…” he growled while he alternated with his hands as he climbed forward on sheer grip strength. Ironically the shuttle righted itself again and caused the rope ladder to slam downwards. The Inquisitor barely grazed the torso of the Spade, narrowly avoiding a serious injury.

  He quickly climbed the rest of the way up. As Varius hopped into the cockpit he yanked the rope ladder up in one swift motion then slammed the button to close the cockpit. His hands moved quickly from muscle memory as he secured his harness locking him safely into the massive WarMech’s command chair. He instinctively began initiating the startup process and warming the Spade’s large engine. Varius could feel a slight pressurized sensation in his ears as the cockpit hatch closed and became airtight.

  As the machine came to life the various screens forming the pilot’s battle view activated.

  “Welcome back Inquisitor. I am synchronizing with myself and will be operational in a moment” a synthetic male voice said over the internal speakers.

  “Make it fast Marth” Varius said as he finished securing himself into the command chair.

  “Synchronization complete” Marth said with a neutral tone only a machine could manage.

  The smaller secondary monitors began to display the technical readouts of the Spade including ammo, armor and condition of the machine. Varius was able to see the hangar as the primary three monitors displayed the live feed from the various cameras mounted to the outer hull of the WarMech.

  He keyed a video connection to the bridge as he could feel his body slightly tilt to the side as the shuttle rocked hard.

  “Captain Harris, I need the hangar door opened” the Inquisitor said as he used the Spade’s massive left hand to clear cables and equipment situated around the machine.

  As the Spade stood to its full height, nearly hitting the ceiling of the hangar bay, the Captain responded. “Inquisitor…I ordered everyone to get to escape pods!”

  Varius scoffed loudly and killed the communication. He activated the Spade’s weapons and took two steps towards the blast door at the end of the hangar.

  Debris began to float into the air weightlessly. The Inquisitor could feel his stomach drop as the Spade briefly lifted off the hangar floor and pressed up against the ceiling. With expert care, he used the left hand of the Spade to brace itself against the ceiling as he took aim to the side of the blast doors. Varius slammed the thumb button on his left joystick launching two missiles from a six-pack missile pod on the WarMech’s left shoulder. The pair exploded violently against the interior of the hangar causing massive internal damage. Flaming debris that careened away from the blast harmlessly bounced off the Spade.

  Varius then aimed his WarMech’s main weapon, a tremendously large Titan Killer Mk II scattergun that could fire various loads of ammunition built into the right arm instead of a hand. He toggled the ammo to switch from slug to scatterfire and fired twice which blasted even more holes into the outer hull.

  The Inquisitor aggressively pressed the right pedal with his foot making the WarMech charge forward. He fired one more shot from the Titan Killer creating a larger opening. Varius used his control sticks to bring up the Spade’s left arm to shield the center torso where he sat as it burst through the hull and into the night sky as it descended to the planet below.

  Alarms sounded as the WarMech tumbled end over end. Varius used small positioning jets on the outside of the WarMech to ease it out of the tumble and position itself to see the shuttle as it began to break up into chunks. Smoke trailed behind the shuttle and its left engine was entirely missing.

  Varius slammed the left pedal which ignited the jumper pack built into the Spade’s back sending it away from the falling vessel and clear of the debris.

  “I
confirm both escape pods have detached from the shuttle” Marth said matter-of-factly.

  “How many life signs?” the Inquisitor asked as he fought to maintain the orient of the Spade in its downward fall.

  “I count twelve. One remains aboard the shuttle.”

  “What?!” Varius shouted as he connected to the shuttle’s communication array.

  “Captain Harris? What are you doing?”

  The older grizzled man grit his teeth as he struggled against the manual controls of the shuttle. “I couldn’t just abandon ship and let this crash into an apartment complex or something. I am aiming for the lake just outside of downtown.”

  Varius clenched his jaw and swallowed. “Good luck Paul.”

  Captain Harris looked at the screen to his right and somberly gulped. He reached over and killed the connection to the Inquisitor.

  As the Spade continued to fall towards Eden and its very tall skyscrapers, Varius watched the shuttle drift further and further away as it headed towards the body of water below.

  “Impact in ninety seconds” Marth alerted its pilot.

  The Inquisitor looked to his right at the fuel indicator for his WarMech’s jumper pack. It read 88%. WarMechs often were outfitted with jumper packs or the equivalent of to assist operations in space or to allow commanders to hot drop their heavier forces into combat. Varius chose the Spade on purpose when he graduated the pilot program from the BCI because it was a heavier design equipped with jump capability.

  While the illuminated streets below grew closer and closer, Varius angled his WarMech straight up and fired his jumper pack again, but this time to help decelerate his speed. Even though the WarMech itself could withstand a very hard impact, his gooey innards could not.