Resolute Uprising (The War for Terra) Read online

  Resolute Uprising

  Book 3 of

  The War for Terra

  By

  James R. Prosser, Jr.

  Resolute Uprising

  Book 3 of the War for Terra

  Copyright: James R. Prosser, Jr.

  First Published:

  Cover Illustration by: James R. Prosser, Jr.

  This book is entirely a work of fiction created by the author. Any resemblance to any person or character, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  The right of James R. Prosser, Jr. to be identified as author of this Work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in retrieval system, copied in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise transmitted without written permission from the publisher. You must not circulate this book in any form.

  Resolute Uprising is the third book in the War for Terra saga. You may want to go back and purchase the first novel Resolute Command and the second novel Resolute Stand before reading this book.

  For the dreamers of dreams and the doers of great deeds.

  For those who stand up when others kneel and whisper louder than a shout.

  Contents

  Prologue

  Five Years Ago

  Earth – Costa Rica

  1

  Now

  The Battleship Resolute

  2

  3

  4

  5

  Five Years ago

  Earth - Singapore

  6

  Now

  Alliance Vessel Terran Hope

  7

  8

  9

  10

  Five Years Ago

  Earth

  11

  Now

  Perigee Station

  12

  Kettering Prime

  13

  Planet Anu

  14

  15

  Five Years Ago

  Earth - Los Angeles

  16

  Now

  Gomus City

  17

  18

  Kettering Prime

  19

  Terran Colony Six

  20

  Five Years ago

  Harpy Prison Station

  21

  Now

  Planet Kaya

  22

  23

  24

  25

  Five Years Ago

  Earth - Wyoming

  26

  Now

  Perigee Station

  27

  28

  Ch’Tauk Home World

  29

  Perigee Station

  30

  Now

  Earth

  Prologue

  Five Years Ago

  Earth – Costa Rica

  Sophia heard the sound of the approaching ship long before she saw it. She looked over the playground at the young children happily swinging and laughing. She did not think about what the sound might mean; only that it reminded her of the storms that rolled in from the Atlantic Ocean. Her grandson let out a loud squeal that caused the protective instincts in her to zero in on the little boy. The lighting around the play area flickered on just as she found him.

  At three years old he seemed too much like his father for Sophia’s taste. His hair was lighter than the rest of the other children, tending towards dark blond rather than black like most Costa Rican children. His thin face had developed the hawkish nose of his father’s European heritage, rather than the dark skin and thicker features of the native people. Sophia loved her daughter and grandson, but sometimes she questioned the young woman’s judgment when it came to beauty.

  The ground began to rumble under Sophia’s feet as the sound grew in volume. Sophia began to wonder if the Terran Defense Force was running unscheduled practices again. As she looked towards the coast, she spied large craft approaching. The configuration was different from the TDF fighters and landing craft that she was familiar with. It was more compact and lacked the atmospheric wings of most Earth vessels. She was able to make out overlapping bands of metal covering the surface of the coppery colored ship as it grew closer. It reminded Sophia of one of the many varieties of elephant beetle that inhabited the banana trees nearby. This ship was much larger than any insect and was flying towards the city.

  “Carlos,” Sophia called to her grandson. “Come here, Caliche.”

  The boy did not pay attention to his grandmother over the sound of the other children playing. He ran up a ramp to a slide and waited his turn to descend. Sophia stood from the low bench and approached the playground. Some of the other parents had also started towards the children, confused by the strange ship that had begun to descend from the dark sky.

  “Carlos,” called Sophia again. “Come down here now, please. It’s time to go home.”

  “No!” the three year old exclaimed. “I wanna stay and ride the train, Abuelita!”

  Sophia glanced over her shoulder at the small track of the old fashioned train. It ran on rails set into the ground and was a favorite of the small children. As she turned back to her grandson, she noticed that a few of the larger children had left the play set and were returning to their parents. The boy standing in front of Carlos jumped onto the metal slide and slid down the ramp with a loud howl.

  “Caliche, take your turn and come down at once,” said Sophia, concern creeping into her voice. “We can get tortas on the way home.”

  Carlos whooped as he swung himself onto the slide. He let out an excited cheer as he slid down the metal ramp and into the sand below. Sophia went to her grandson and patted down his backside, trying to dust off the child in the hopes of saving the seats in her skimmer.

  As she turned back to where the vessel had been in the sky, the ground bucked beneath her feet, sending her sprawling into the sand with Carlos. The boy looked to his grandmother in confusion as Sophia tried to figure out what had happened. When she turned to look back towards the city, she saw a bright plume of fire and smoke headed into the sky. For a moment, she thought that maybe the ship had crashed into the town, but the bug-like vessel still hovered above her, unmoving.

  Confusion about the ship turned to fear as a line of red-orange fire spilled out of the vessel. As the liquid-like fire touched the ground, it bloomed into an enormous ball of flame and smoke. She saw one of the older hotels, one of the ones built before the twenty second century, exploded as the concrete superheated and the underlying steel began to melt. Sophia had never imagined that an ancient building, one that had withstood over a century of wear and weather, would fall so quickly.

  Carlos began to cry as the other children ran to their parents for comfort. Sophia picked herself from the ground and wrapped her arms around the child. She picked the child up from the sand and held him tight as she turned away from the destruction and headed towards the parking area. The boy continued to sob as she carried him past other parents who were also fleeing from the attack.

  As she approached her skimmer, an older model with an enclosed cab and open bed, she heard more explosions from the town. There was an additional roar from the sky and she saw another smaller ship speed past overhead. The ground vibrated as the ship skimmed over the treetops towards the larger ship. Sophia reached into her pocket and activated the skimmer’s engine by remote. The skimmer rumbled to life and rose just above the ground, lifted by strong electromagnetic generators from the bottom.

  As Sophia reached the vehicle, she pressed her palm against the metal by the door and it p
opped open. She shifted Carlos around and tried to press him into the safety seat on the left side of the car. He protested, trying to wrap his arms around her even as she pushed him away. She pried his fingers away from her neck to get him into the restraint. As she fastened the harness over his shoulders, there was another explosion, nearer this time, from the city. The sound had changed, however, not sounding as loud or as large as the first set.

  “Abuelita, don’t leave me alone!” wiled the child as she stepped away from him to close the door. “Please, I’m scared.”

  “Don’t worry, Caliche,” Sophia replied. “I am just closing the door and coming around.”

  The boy moaned as Sophia palmed the door closed. She turned back to look at the city again, but the air had begun to thicken with smoke and debris. She was still able to make out fires in the distance as she rounded the front of the skimmer. There was a new sound, like an engine winding down, that concerned Sophia. She reached her own side of the vehicle and palmed the door open. As she slid into the seat beside Carlos, she pulled the door shut.

  Slamming the control stick into reverse, she pulled the skimmer back away from the playground, forgetting to retract the landing struts and digging a trench across the parking lot. As she slipped the skimmer back into forward, she pressed the button for the skids and felt them pull up into the vehicle. She avoided another skimmer as she tried to exit the lot. The driver pressed the alert horn as Sophia avoided scraping the paint from the other car’s door panel. She pushed her accelerator fully forward as she sped onto the narrow main road leading away from the town. She saw the other car turn back to the town and prayed that the driver knew what they were doing.

  “Abuelita, where are we going?” Carlos asked through sniffles and tears. “Why aren’t we going home?”

  “Home is not safe, Caliche,” Sophia replied. “We need to get away from the town and as quickly as possible.”

  “Are we still going to get tortas?” asked the boy, seeking comfort in the thought.

  “I will make some of my special arroz con leche when we get where we are going,” Sophia said, glancing at the smoke and fire in her rear view imager. “I think we can make it to your abuelo’s cabin in the mountains.”

  “Abuelo?” Carlos asked. “I thought you said that he was in space and would not be home for another week or two.”

  “Your grandfather is still being a captain, Caliche,” Sophia replied, sliding the skimmer onto an even narrower road leading towards the jungle. “I think we can wait for him there until he gets home, okay?”

  “Okay,” Carlos said, reaching into the pocket on the side of the safety seat and retrieving a toy spaceship. He seemed unconcerned about the speed of the vehicle as they careened through the tall grass. Sophia switched off the lighting on the car as the sped along.

  One of the ships, the smaller type, blasted down the road that she had just left. This close to the jungle road, the sound of howler monkeys as they protested the destruction of the town was deafening. She said another small prayer as she entered the thick overhang of the forested area. Slowing the vehicle only slightly, she navigated the jungle road for a few miles, gaining elevation as she went. There was a small clearing a few kilometers down the road that overlooked the city and she needed to know what was happening before she went into hiding.

  She pressed the panel button for the radio announcements, but only received only static punctuated by loud pops that corresponded to the now more distant explosions. It made sense that the invaders would cut off communications first if they were going to launch an attack. She switched the device off as the clearing came into view ahead. As she approached, she slowed the vehicle, not wanting to reveal their presence if any of the invaders happened to be watching.

  “Carlos,” Sophia began. “Can you stay here while I go and look at the city?”

  “Abuelita, don’t go,” replied the boy, panic crossing his small face. “Don’t leave me here all alone!”

  “It will be only for a moment, Caliche,” Sophia replied. “I will be right up there for just a few moments, okay?”

  “No!” said the child. His face was beginning to redden again as tears peeked out from his eyes.

  Sophia reached across the seat as she stopped the skimmer and pressed the control for the skids. She gave the protesting boy a hug to reassure him. He had begun to cry again, but softer this time. As she pulled away, she gave the safety restraint a tug to make sure that Carlos could not try to follow her. She opened the door on her side and slid out of the seat and into the warm, humid air of the jungle. She could make out traces of the smoke in what was usually fragrant and crisp air. The damage must have been extensive to have reached this far away already and she began to fear what she was about to see.

  As she crept from the cover of the jungle canopy, there was another roar, but this one from below her position. She paused, not wanting to step out into the light for fear of discovery. After waiting for a few moments, she slowly stepped out onto the overlook. The setting sun still warmed her face, but her blood ran cold at the sight of her home.

  The massive insect-ship had moved back out over the water, its deadly business finished for now. Through the smoke, the burning buildings and trees that were once her home were burning. There was a ship, a long and armored vessel that was different from the others, that had settled near where the playground once stood. From the open gangway, troops of black armored aliens descended and began spreading out into the city. She tried to determine if the soldiers were wearing armor or if it was their skin that was hardened, but could not see from this distance. The ship was projecting a bright light over the darkened city.

  Screams of terrified locals drifted up from the ruined city as Sophia watched people being hunted in the streets. Some were killed as they ran, but others appeared to be getting rounded up by the soldiers. Four smaller vessels were flying above the streets, apparently calling in location reports to the soldiers on the ground. Occasionally, the fighters would unleash a stream of plasma fire into the city, destroying homes and businesses.

  Sophia had never experienced war. Her husband had told her stories from when he served in the Confederation military. Those stories, while horrifying, seemed distant and mythical when she remembered them. This destruction was nearby and she felt the death of each of her neighbors as she watched the soldiers march through the streets.

  She turned back to the skimmer, her mind trying to decide on a plan as she looked back to the small child in the passenger’s seat. The boy’s parents were off-world and Sophia hoped that meant they were safe. Despite having been married for nearly half a century, she had never been more alone in all her life. She wished her husband, Alfredo, was here. Sophia had begged him to leave the service in the hopes that he would be staying closer to home. His new job as the captain of a luxury liner kept him away for long periods. He was due back into Earth in two weeks and she hoped that whatever was happening here was isolated to Earth and not to his ship somewhere out there.

  She approached the skimmer, trying to compose herself so as not to frighten her grandson. The boy looked out through the windscreen at her with a fearful expression. Although Alfredo had been the one away, fighting battles, she had been home, raising their children and protecting their home. She pooled her resolve and tried to feel the confidence that she knew the little boy had in her. She palmed the door open again and got into the vehicle. As she pulled the door closed, she looked over to her grandson.

  The boy had wiped the tears away from his face with a sandy hand that had left trails on his face. She reached over and wiped the sand from the boy’s puffy and reddened cheeks. He was holding back tears that were pushing him to cry, but Sophia knew that it was a fight that he would lose soon. The more she looked at her grandson, the less he looked like his father and the more she saw traces of Alfredo in his eyes. She owed the boy to protect him as if she was his own mother and she intended to carry out her duty with her last breath.

  “Calic
he,” Sophia said. “We are going to go into the mountains now and learn how to survive in the jungle. Does that sound like fun?”

  “Will mama be there?” the boy asked. “Will they be learning, too?”

  Sophia’s heart broke as she realized that there was no way to answer the question without making the boy cry again. She needed to start thinking like a survivor now if she wanted to protect him and she needed to prepare the boy for whatever happened next.

  “No, Carlos,” she replied. “Your mama will not be there when we get to the cabin, but she might be along soon and then we can all have a party together. Does that sound okay?”

  The tears began to fall on the little boy’s face again as he contemplated how to have fun without his mother. He swallowed and tried to look to his grandmother for guidance. The smell of smoke had begun to creep into the cab of the skimmer and he coughed to clear his throat.

  “Okay, Abuelita,” he said, drawing a long sniff back into his throat. “We can go to the cabin and wait for mama, now.”

  Sophia nodded her approval of the boy’s permission. She slipped the drive back into forward and sped past the clearing and deeper into the woods. Alfredo had stocked the cabin with food before they had left the last time so she knew they would have food to eat. Her people had come from the jungle. She knew of techniques to hunt and fish that could keep them safe and healthy for at least a few weeks if it came to it. She just hoped that whatever was happening would be over before too long and that her family was safe. She couldn’t bear the thought of doing this alone.

  1

  Now

  The Battleship Resolute

  Lee Pearce pulled the nose of his Silver Eagle fighter into a tight turn that would have killed him if he were flying any other ship. The Silver Eagle had been modified throughout the last five years of service. The ship now possessed an inertial compensation system that negated the effects of momentum on his body at near relativistic speeds. He leveled the ship out and aimed her straight at the large, lots blossom shaped station orbiting a dead world.