Obsidian Fleet: A Military Sci-Fi Series (Omega Taskforce Book 4) Read online

  Obsidian Fleet

  Omega Taskforce: Book Four

  G J Ogden

  Contents

  More by G J Ogden

  Chapter 1

  Time to face the music

  Chapter 2

  A lesson in vindictiveness

  Chapter 3

  Another rude awakening

  Chapter 4

  A tale of two breakfasts

  Chapter 5

  A misplaced Marauder

  Chapter 6

  Suspicion, fear and the S.I.B.

  Chapter 7

  The good girl

  Chapter 8

  Welcome to New Danvers

  Chapter 9

  Shift Seven Seven

  Chapter 10

  A choice with only one option

  Chapter 11

  The Flores and the Cornwallis

  Chapter 12

  The Obsidian Project

  Chapter 13

  Rebound surge

  Chapter 14

  Bury the dead

  Chapter 15

  Hidden depths

  Chapter 16

  A fight to the last

  Chapter 17

  You can’t outrun justice

  Chapter 18

  In pursuit of revenge

  Chapter 19

  A taste of things to come

  Chapter 20

  The Honeymoon suite

  Chapter 21

  What do we do now?

  Chapter 22

  The ship’s graveyard

  Chapter 23

  The best defence is offence

  Chapter 24

  Home sweet homeworld

  Chapter 25

  The battle for F-Sector

  Chapter 26

  No guts, no glory

  Chapter 27

  Same war, new fight

  Continue the journey

  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.

  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.

  Star Scavenger Series (5-book series)

  Firefly blended with the mystery and adventure of Indiana Jones. Book 1 is 99c / 99p.

  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.

  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

  Time to face the music

  Captain Lucas Sterling reclined in the desk chair in his quarters on the Fleet Marauder Invictus. On the computer screen was the latest briefing report from G-sector, while on his desk was a half-drunk cup of coffee. The liquid in the plain, white mug was as dark and cold as Sterling felt.

  “Computer, skip back to the footage of the Titan again,” he said, tapping a finger against the knuckles of his left hand. The computer obliged and the image of the ten-kilometer-long Sa’Nerran warship appeared on his screen. “Where was this footage captured?” Sterling asked, directing the question to the ceiling, which was where he always envisaged the computer to be located.

  “Probes captured these images from Juniper Colony in G-sector, quadrant four, Captain,” the computer answered, as cheerfully as ever. “It was relayed through the apertures at oh four hundred this morning, Zulu time. The aperture relays have since been destroyed by the Sa’Nerra.”

  Sterling grunted an acknowledgment, then cast his eyes up again. “Play it again.”

  Sterling pushed himself further back into his seat as the relayed footage of the Titan at work was displayed on his console. Flanked by a dozen other alien cruisers, the Titan had been steadily ripping through the colony worlds in G-sector ever since the aliens had overrun the region and destroyed G-COP. The Titan’s aperture-projection weapon, which Sterling had first observed disintegrating a shepherd moon in System Omega Four, was being used to devastating effect. Using the weapon, the Titan had obliterated orbital space stations with a single shot, and pulverized any planetary defenses long before they could respond to the alien threat. However, as powerful as the Titan clearly was, its unique weapon was cumbersome and slow to fire. Were it not for the Sa’Nerran neural control weapon, the Titan alone would not be a game-changer, Sterling reasoned. He was pondering what other secrets the enormous vessel might contain when the door buzzer chimed. The disruption was so sudden and unexpected that Sterling almost tipped backward out of his chair.

  “Commander Banks is at the door, Captain,” the computer chirruped. The image on the computer terminal automatically paused as the computer spoke.

  “I didn’t ask,” replied Sterling, crabbily. He’d inadvertently kicked his desk when the door buzzer startled him. Cold coffee had spilled on the surface and he was hurriedly mopping it up with a tissue.

  “I calculated a ninety-two-point-six percent chance that you were about to ask me who was at the door,” the computer went on, remaining no less cheerful. “I therefore took the liberty of saving you the time and effort of asking, and simply answered your near-inevitable question in advance.”

  Sterling laughed. “Well, maybe I’ll take the liberty of removing some of your processing cores,” he hit back, staring up at the ceiling. “Perhaps then you’ll be less impulsive?” In truth, Sterling knew he would never make good on his threat. As much as the quirky gen-fourteen AI irked him at times, he enjoyed sparring with it. To him, it was like another member of the crew, albeit an annoyingly cheerful one.

  “I would prefer that you did not remove any of my processing cores, Captain,” the computer replied. Sterling thought he sensed a little more dolefulness in its synthesized tones. “Owing to what Fleet has deemed to be ‘persona irregularities’, all Fleet ships were ordered to revert to gen-thirteen AIs. As such, I am the only gen-fourteen still in service.”

  “I know,” said Sterling, swiveling his chair to face the door. “I received those orders too. And ignored them.”

  The computer was silent. Ah, that shut you up… Sterling thought, reveling in his victory. This was the first time he’d ever left his quirky computer lost for words. Then the door buzzer rang again.

  “Well, are you going to open the door or not?” said Sterling, casting hi
s eyes toward the ceiling.

  “I was waiting for you to instruct me to take that action, Captain,” the computer replied.

  “That would be a first,” muttered Sterling.

  The door to his quarters swished open, revealing Commander Mercedes Banks in the corridor. Jinx the beagle sat patiently at her feet. Her tail was wagging happily.

  “Did I catch you on the can or something?” Banks said, hands on hips. “I’ve been out here for hours.”

  “No, and don’t be so damned disgusting,” Sterling snapped, scrunching up his nose. Jinx trotted inside, her cybernetic leg clanking tunefully on the deck plating. The dog hopped onto the bottom of Sterling’s bed and immediately curled up. “Me and the gen-fourteen were just having a conversation, that’s all,” Sterling went on, scowling at Jinx. However, the dog just looked at him and continued to wag her tail at what appeared to be close to the speed of light.

  Banks frowned, then stepped into Sterling’s quarters, allowing the door to swish shut behind her. “Aren’t we supposed to have already downgraded the AI to gen-thirteen?” she asked, walking behind Sterling’s chair and perching herself on the bed.

  The rock-hard mattress compressed under her weight. Despite looking like she weighed no more than one-thirty pounds, Banks was actually closer to the mass of a light heavyweight due to her hyper-dense muscles.

  “I know, but I like our gen-fourteen,” replied Sterling, returning his attention to his console.

  “Thank you, Captain, that means a lot to me,” the computer interrupted.

  “I wasn’t talking to you,” Sterling snapped back, casting his eyes to the ceiling again. He then shook his head and turned his attention to his first officer. “We’ve never had computer problems and it has never let us down. I don’t change things if they don’t need fixing.”

  “Aye, sir,” replied Banks. She then noticed the frozen video image of the Titan on Sterling’s screen. “Is that the latest report from G-sector?”

  Sterling nodded and tapped the console to resume playback. “I couldn’t sleep, so I’ve been going over it for the last few hours,” he said while rewinding the footage by a couple of minutes. Hitting play, the two of them then watched the video feed of the Titan destroying a space station at Juniper Colony. “There’s something about it that just doesn’t add up,” Sterling finally said, breaking the silence. “I can’t put my finger on what and it’s been driving me insane.”

  “That ship is powerful, but it’s no planet killer,” mused Banks, still watching the footage. “Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to have a weapon like it, but it’s not a game-changer.”

  Sterling laughed and flopped back in his chair. “That’s it exactly, damn it,” he said, smiling at Banks. “You’ve been here all of two minutes and you’ve already figured it out.”

  Banks shrugged. “I’m just that good, I guess.”

  “You’re right, though,” said Sterling, sitting up and tapping the console to pause the video. “When we first saw this ship, I thought we were looking at a planet killer, but it only seems capable of taking out space stations.”

  Banks scowled. “Is that not bad enough?” she said, clearly not following Sterling’s train of thought.

  “The Hammer or a few heavy cruisers can take down stations too,” Sterling replied. “Perhaps not so easily, but it’s not like the Sa’Nerra couldn’t already blow-up space stations. They’ve blown up dozens in the Void. It doesn’t make sense that they’d build a whole new ten-klik-long ship for that purpose alone.”

  “So, what are we missing?” wondered Banks, shuffling position on the bed and sitting with more alertness. The Invictus’ first officer now appeared to be more in tune with Sterling’s reasoning.

  “I don’t know,” Sterling replied, shaking his head in frustration. “But I have a feeling we’ll find out sooner rather than later. I’d rather figure it out first, if we can, so we’re not caught off-guard.”

  Sterling and Banks both fell silent as the question of the Titan’s purpose meandered through their thoughts. The fact that Banks had pinpointed the same concerns was encouraging. However, Sterling was no closer to understanding the Titan’s role than he was when he’d woken up at five in the morning with the colossal ship weighing heavily on his mind.

  “What about Crow and McQueen?” Banks then said, changing the subject. “Does the briefing report have anything new on them?”

  Sterling tapped the console, then skipped to a different section of the report. Lana McQueen’s face appeared on the console screen. The Omega Captain-turned-Emissary was dressed in Sa’Nerran armor and appeared to be on the bridge of an alien warship.

  “See for yourself,” Sterling said, tapping the console again to start the playback before reclining in his seat.

  “Citizens of the United Governments, I am an Emissary of the Sa’Nerra,” McQueen began, enunciating each word like a seasoned politician. Sterling’s hands tightened into fists as his former friend’s traitorous words flowed. Unlike other sections of the briefing, he had only been able to stomach watching McQueen’s address once. “Regrettably, the refusal of your military masters to end hostilities has forced us to take drastic action in the defense of the illustrious Sa’Nerran race.”

  “Get a load of this crap,” Banks cut in. Like Sterling, it only took a few words from McQueen to fill her gut with bile.

  “The Sa’Nerran defense armada is now in control of the United Governments’ G-sector, having defeated Fleet forces with ease,” McQueen went on. Sterling could no longer even bear to look at the image of McQueen on the screen for fear of putting his fist through the display. “Unless our terms are met, we will push further into United Governments’ space and put an end to Fleet’s warmongering ways with decisive force.”

  The camera then zoomed in tight on McQueen’s face and her expression softened. It was like a telethon host making an impassioned plea for donations to help the sick and needy. Despite not wanting to watch it again, Sterling couldn’t help but flick his eyes back to the screen.

  “Urge your leaders to contact me so that we can end this conflict peacefully,” McQueen continued. As acting performances went, Sterling couldn’t deny that the former captain was putting on an Oscar-worthy show. “Otherwise, we will be left with no choice but to take proactive action to safeguard the future of our species.”

  Sterling cursed then practically punched the console to stop the playback. “I can’t listen to any more of her bullshit,” he snarled, turning away from the display. “What’s worse is that she transmitted that message into F-sector through the aperture relays. Fleet tried to block and scramble the broadcast, but it’s already spread across the inner colony worlds like wildfire. The UG is denying it, of course, but public pressure is mounting.”

  “Public pressure for what?” Banks asked.

  “Surrender,” replied Sterling. The look of pure disgust on his first officer’s face told Sterling everything he needed to know about Banks’ opinion on the matter.

  “What are those things?” said Banks, pointing to the images on the screen.

  As the video recording had rolled on, the camera had cut away to footage of the Sa’Nerran invasion armada. It was a classic show of military might, of the sort that Earth-based military dictatorships across the ages had conducted. It was the space-based equivalent of parading troops and weapons of war through the streets of a capitol city.

  “Fleet believes that they’re aperture builders,” replied Sterling, guessing which ships out of the hundreds being shown were the ones Banks had referred to. “We can’t be sure of their projection range, but it’s possible that if the aliens manage to take E-sector or even if F-sector falls, the Sa’Nerra can build a new aperture directly to the solar system.”

  Banks cursed. Whereas she had previously only been repulsed by the deceitful words of Emissary McQueen, his first-officer now just looked plain pissed off. Sterling skipped ahead then enhanced a different section of the alien armada.

  “
Fleet thinks these are troop carriers,” Sterling said, as technical data on the ship he’d highlighted flashed up on the screen. “They counted dozens of them just in this footage and estimate that each one could carry upward of fifty thousand troops.”

  “What’s the betting that a lot of those will be turned humans from Fleet or the colonies?” Banks added.

  Sterling nodded. Banks’ intuition was as keen as ever. He then enhanced another part of the image. This time the computer did not need to overlay technical specifications in order for either of them to know what they were looking at.

  “Those are Fleet destroyers,” said Banks, scowling. “And it looks like a cruiser and maybe a few frigates too.”

  “We inflict losses and the alien bastards just reinforce their armada with Fleet ships they’ve captured and turned during each engagement,” Sterling said. He couldn’t deny the beauty and simplicity of the Sa’Nerra’s plan. They didn’t need to build more ships or train more crews – they could merely disable Fleet vessels then add them to their ranks.

  “It’s like calling in instant backup,” commented Banks, again perfectly in tune with Sterling’s thinking. “Our numbers dwindle while theirs stay the same, or even go up. By the time that armada reaches earth, there will be no stopping it.”

  A calendar reminder then flashed up on the console screen, alerting Sterling to his upcoming meeting with Admiral Wessel. He reached over and angrily shut down the terminal to remove the message from his sight.