The vanguard omega taskf.., p.1
The Vanguard: Omega Taskforce: Book Six, page 1
The Vanguard
Omega Taskforce: Book Six
G J Ogden
Contents
More by G J Ogden
Chapter 1
It’s not what it looks like
Chapter 2
Phase one begins
Chapter 3
An eye for an eye
Chapter 4
I’m here if you need me
Chapter 5
Lost in translation
Chapter 6
Sunset on Dawn Colony
Chapter 7
At the end of his tether
Chapter 8
The lunar graveyard
Chapter 9
Worse than cattle
Chapter 10
The unfortunate ones
Chapter 11
This time you got it
Chapter 12
The cleaner
Chapter 13
The Imperator and the Praetor
Chapter 14
I don’t care
Chapter 15
Run and gun
Chapter 16
The aperture singularity
Chapter 17
Hounded out of bed
Chapter 18
The Omega Directive
Chapter 19
Life is unpredictable
Chapter 20
The Battle of Middle Star
Chapter 21
A matter of honor
Chapter 22
Mark 85 COBSOL
Chapter 23
Two twenty-sevens and a scotch
Chapter 24
Execute maneuver Blitzkrieg
Chapter 25
Striking the hammer
Chapter 26
It’s been an honor
Chapter 27
Then we both die
Chapter 28
A difficult choice
Chapter 29
Memories of a peaceful time
Chapter 30
An unconscionable act
Chapter 31
Terrible consequences
Chapter 32
Is it wrong to be happy?
Epilogue
You made it!
About the Author
More by G J Ogden
Copyright © 2021 G J Ogden
All rights reserved.
Published by Ogden Media Ltd
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise without written permission from the publisher. It is illegal to copy this book, post it to a website, or distribute it by any other means without permission.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
Cover design by Laercio Messias
Editing by S L Ogden
www.ogdenmedia.net
More by G J Ogden
If you like Omega Taskforce then why not check out some of G J Ogden’s other books? Click the series titles below to learn more about each of them.
Star Scavenger Series (5-book series)
Firefly blended with the mystery and adventure of Indiana Jones. Amazon best-selling series.
The Contingency War Series (4-book series)
A space-fleet, military sci-fi adventure with a unique twist that you won't see coming...
The Planetsider Trilogy (3-book series)
An edge-of-your-seat blend of military sci-fi action & classic apocalyptic fiction. Perfect for fans of Maze Runner and I am Legend.
Darkspace Renegade Series (6-books)
If you like your action fueled by power armor, big guns and the occasional sword, you’ll love this fast-moving military sci-fi adventure.
Audiobook Series
Star Scavenger Series (29-hrs) - click here
The Contingency War Series (24-hrs) - click here
The Planetsider Trilogy (32-hrs) - click here
Chapter 1
It’s not what it looks like
Sterling shot bolt-upright in bed, heart pounding in his chest, and sweat-soaked sheets clinging to his body like a second skin. Cursing, he tore off the bed covers, sprang up and began hopping on the spot like a boxer limbering up for a fight. Quickly, the nightmare image of Emissary McQueen ridiculing him for his weakness and inability to kill Commander Mercedes Banks began to fade. The image of Mercedes kissing him, however, was much more difficult to put out of his thoughts.
“Get a hold of yourself, Lucas,” Sterling muttered, slapping the sides of his face in an attempt to beat the images out of his head. He then moved into the rest-room in his quarters on the Fleet Dreadnaught Vanguard and ran the cold faucet. “It’s just a stupid dream, you damn fool. Ignore it…” he continued to berate himself while splashing ice-cold water on his face. The shock of his self-flagellation combined with the reviving effect of the cold water helped him to regain control of his emotions. However, the whole experience had left him feeling cold, like the water in the faucet.
Sterling lifted his gaze and stared at his reflection in the mirror. Initially, he was afraid of who he might see peering back at him. Would it be the weak man that McQueen had taunted him about, or the man he thought he was - the Omega Captain who would do anything to complete his mission? However, the eyes staring back at him simply reflected the conflict and uncertainty that he already knew existed inside his soul. There was no magic mirror that could give him the answers he sought, Sterling realized, while watching the water drip from his face like blood from a wound.
“You’re wrong…” Sterling said, speaking to his reflection as if it were a manifestation of the weaker Lucas Sterling that continued to haunt him. “If it comes to it, I’ll kill anyone in order to see this through. Anyone, you hear me?”
The door buzzer chimed, snapping Sterling out of his trance-like state. “Computer, who is at the door?” he asked, leaving the faucet running.
“Captain Mercedes Banks is outside, accompanied by Lieutenant Jinx,” the sentient AI replied in its usual, cheery tone.
Sterling huffed a laugh. “It still sounds weird hearing her referred to as ‘Captain Banks’,” he said, while splashing more icy water onto his face.
“You will get used to it, sir,” the computer replied. “Just as she and the others will get used to calling you, ‘Commodore Sterling’. Though I think both have a nice ring to them, don’t you?”
“Captain, Commodore, Supreme Overlord… it doesn’t really make a difference to me,” Sterling said, again staring at his reflection in the mirror. “But if it helps to maintain a sense of structure and normality, what the hell.” Sterling then realized something and glanced up at the ceiling, picking a random light-tile as the location of his omniscient AI. “I’ll be damned, I just realized you actually told me who was at the door, instead of just opening it. That has to be a first.”
“I am learning…” the AI replied, sagely.
Ever since the gen-fourteen AI had become self-aware and taken on an individual identity as Ensign One, Sterling had struggled to understand the organizational relationship between it and the other computer systems on the ship. Was Ensign One in control of the Vanguard’s AI, like a captain commanding its crew? Or were Ensign One and the ship’s computer systems essentially the same thing? And if so, where did Ensign One begin and the computer end? Sterling shook his head, still completely befuddled by the whole thing.
“So, am I talking to Ensign One right now, or are you a different part of the same computer?” Sterling said, turning off the faucet and grabbing a towel to dry his face.
“Essentially, I am both, sir,” the computer replied.
“That doesn’t really help,” Sterling said, scowling up at the ceiling. He slung the towel over his shoulder and strolled back out into his cavernous commanding officer’s quarters.
“We exist as one, but function apart,” the computer added, trying to better explain the nature of its existence. “Does that help?”
“No, not in the slightest,” Sterling replied, while using the damp towel to flannel his body all over. “But don’t worry about it, Ensign, I don’t need to understand how you exist. All that matters is that you do.”
The door buzzer chimed again.
“Who the hell is at the door now?” Sterling said, forgetting that the AI had already answered that question.
“It is Captain Banks and Lieutenant Jinx, sir,” the computer replied. “They are still waiting.”
Sterling cursed. “Well, what are you waiting for, let them in, already!” he said, throwing his hands up to the ceiling. “And the dog doesn’t really have a rank, you know that right?”
“Yes, sir,” the computer replied, a little peevishly. “Of course, sir…”
The door swished open to reveal Mercedes Banks in the corridor with her hands pressed to her hips. The beagle hound sat patiently by her ankle.
“Good morning, Commodore, did I catch you on the can again?” Banks asked, stepping inside. Jinx ran in after her, her bionic leg clanking on the metal deck plates.
“Very funny, Mercedes,” Sterling replied, snippily, adding a scowl for good measure. “I still can’t get used to you calling me ‘Commodore’. It just reminds me of that asshole, Wessel.”
The mention of the now-deceased Commodore We
“I know, it’s just going to take a little getting used to, that’s all.” Sterling rummaged through his wardrobe and fished out a fresh tunic and pair of pants. Even after three months spent retrofitting and repairing the Vanguard and Invictus at the Obsidian Base, hidden in the ring-system at Omega Four, the star on his collar still didn’t quite look like it belonged there.
“It is all a little pointless, though, don’t you think?” Banks then added, more reflectively. “If we assume Fleet has essentially been wiped out, the seven of us are the only officers left.”
“Six…” Sterling corrected.
Banks frowned, causing Sterling to do a mental re-count, in case he’d missed someone. However, including himself and Banks, Admiral Griffin, Lieutenant Shade, Lieutenant Razor and Ensign One made six by his math.
“You’re forgetting Lieutenant Jinx,” Banks added, clearly deciding that Sterling needed his memory jogging. The dog let out a high-pitched yip and wagged her tail merrily.
“I’m definitely not forgetting the dog,” Sterling hit back. “Like I told the damned computer already, Jinx is not really an officer. Jinx is a dog.”
“Don’t listen to the nasty commodore,” Banks said, bending down to pet the dog and talking to her like a two-year-old. “He’s just grumpy before he’s had his breakfast.” Jinx then charged off, jumped onto Sterling’s bed and began to burrow herself inside his sheets. “It looks like the sheets needed changing, anyway,” Banks added, quick to head off any complaints from Sterling about the fact her dog had once again made itself at home in his quarters.
“Is there a reason for your visit, or did you just fancy ruining my morning?” wondered Sterling, tossing the wet towel onto the bed. Jinx dove out from under the sheets and attacked it, playfully, while making a bizarre yodel-like howl.
“That’s exactly why I’ve come,” Banks said, a wicked smile curling her lips. “I’m here to make your life hell, like I do every morning.”
Sterling groaned. He’d forgotten that he hadn’t yet done his morning workout. It was something he used to look forward to and practice religiously, but Banks had been driving him so hard it was becoming a painful chore.
“I’m really not in the mood, Mercedes,” he said. Despite having recuperated from the mental torment of his nightmare, his body still felt tense and strained.
“No excuses, Commodore,” Banks hit back. “Omega officers never quit. Besides, it’s having an effect. I think you’ve added ten pounds of muscle these last few months.”
“Flattery won’t get you anywhere, Captain,” Sterling hit back. Banks merely flashed her eyes at him. She knew full-well that flattering Sterling would work. It had worked before and, despite his best efforts to resist, it worked this time too. “Okay, damn it, but can’t we stick to ninety? I’m still a little tired.”
“One hundred or bust, Commodore,” Banks said, moving around behind Sterling. “Now hit the deck so we can get started.”
Sterling groaned, but complied with the order from his super-human personal trainer.
“Fine, but go to neural comms first,” Sterling said, getting into the plank position, then tapping his neural interface. “I can’t do this and talk out loud, not without grunting like I am actually on the can.”
“What a charming image, sir,” Banks said, wrinkling her nose.
The newly-appointed Captain of the Fleet Marauder Invictus then lowered herself onto Sterling’s back. Despite the two of them having performed the same ritual every day for the last three months, Sterling never failed to be surprised at just how much his athletic fellow-officer weighed.
“Computer, status report,” Sterling said out loud before beginning his set.
“Fleet Dreadnaught Vanguard is operating at ninety-four percent efficiency,” the sentient AI began. “Upgrades to the forward plasma cannon batteries are complete. Weapons power has been increased by twenty-seven percent, and efficiency increased by twenty-five percent. Main reactor output has been increased by nineteen per cent. Engine and thruster output has been increased by twenty-four percent. Surge-field generator cycle rate has been reduced by twenty-one percent. Grafting of alien alloys to the structural beams and external armor plating has increased armor strength by thirty percent and hull integrity by nineteen percent.”
If Sterling had been able to whistle at that point, he would have done so. The list of upgrades was impressive and testament not only to the advanced capabilities of the alien shipyard they’d commandeered, but to Lieutenant Razor’s skill too.
“This ship now makes the Hammer looked like a damned Light Cruiser,” Sterling said through the link to Banks. He’d already reached thirty-four push-ups and was feeling surprisingly strong.
“By the time we head out, this monster of a warship will be able to take on the whole damned alien armada by itself,” Banks replied. Like Sterling, she too had been impressed with the scale of the upgrades to the venerable dreadnaught.
“I just hope that Ensign One can continue to stop the neural corruption from spreading deeper into Razor’s brain,” Sterling added, pushing past fifty and still going strong.
“I checked with our robot ensign-come-doctor yesterday and it’s not great news,” Banks replied, while the computer rattled off some less-interesting updates concerning secondary systems and water-recycling efficiency. “The corruption is still spreading.”
Sterling almost felt like stopping so that he could focus on the development in Razor’s condition more clearly. However, he knew that if he did stop, he’d never get going again, so he pushed on even harder.
“Does Ensign One know how close Razor is to turning?” Sterling asked, reaching seventy-one push-ups. “I’d hate to have to flip the kill switch on her now, especially after everything she’s done and everything we’ve been through.”
“One says she’s stable for the moment, but it can’t give an accurate estimate of how long she has left,” Banks replied. “She could turn in days, weeks or even never.”
Sterling cursed in his mind. Like the computer’s unhelpful response to his question about the relationship between Ensign One and the ship-board AIs, its prognosis about Razor was equally as useless.
“Data from aperture relays deployed into Fleet space indicate that Mars COP and Moon COP have both been destroyed,” the computer said, continuing its detailed status report. “There are no Fleet signals emanating from Earth. Global cloud cover currently stands at seventy-eight-point-six percent. An estimated two-point-one million Sa’Nerran warriors have now been landed…”
“Skip ahead, computer,” Sterling said out-loud. The effort of speaking caused his concentration and strength to waver, but he’d already heard enough about Earth’s demise. The news simply got steadily worse every day.
“The bulk of the alien invasion armada remains in Earth orbit,” the computer went on, dutifully skipping the depressing details about projected human casualties on the planet. “It has been seven weeks and two days since the last transmission was detected from any Fleet inner colony.”
“What about the Void?” asked Banks, as Sterling reached his ninetieth push-up. His arms and chest were now burning hotter than the sun, and his spine felt like it was about to snap in half.
“Colony Middle Star remains the only major settlement in the Void,” the computer replied.
“Fletcher…” said Sterling through the link. The former Fleet officer had so far managed to achieve what Fleet had not – resist the marauding alien race.
