Resurgence (Redleg In Space Book 2) Read online

  RESURGANCE

  Z.D. DEAN

  Copyright © 2019 Z.D. Dean.

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  If you would like permission to use material from this book, please contact [email protected]

  First printing, 2020.

  Publisher’s note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously.

  RESURGANCE

  REDLEG SPACE CHRONICLES

  BOOK 2

  Z.D. DEAN

  Acknowledgements

  Thank you to everyone who read through the first book and came back for more.

  Z.D. Dean

  Contents

  RESURGANCE

  Previously

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Previously

  “Taking care of my new ride?”

  The mechanic startled at the intrusion but quickly overcame his discomfort.

  “Sure am. Just finished putting in the hydrogen scoop. Installed the new warp engine and AI yesterday after we renovated the life support systems,” a brief pause ensued as the mechanic went through a mental checklist of repairs before he continued. “Not sure what you did to piss off the Chancellor that he saddled you with this rig. She might get you to the rim, but just barely.”

  Curiosity laced with concern raced through Zade’s mind, prompting him to ask the mechanic to turn on the lights in the hanger. He wanted to see his new ship in its full glory. As the lights came up both Zade and Samix’s mouths fell open. Zade’s because he was looking at his very spaceship, Samix’s because she recognized the ship.

  One of the Unity security teams came across the ship floating dead in core space. No one knew the origins of the ship, or the species that created it. The team towed the ship back planet side for researchers to examine it. Researchers tried to gather information on the ship, and eventually deemed it no longer useful, assuming Unity technology had surpassed anything on the mystery ship. It had been sitting in disrepair, forgotten, in this hanger for decades. Her father must have given it to Zade because he could never get anyone to buy it. She was absolutely furious at her father for setting Zade up for failure. Nobody even knew if the ship could break into orbit, let alone make it into contested space. Samix spun on her heel and stormed back towards her waiting security detail.

  “I can’t believe this. My father gave you this hunk of junk. He’s probably hoping you’d die on your trip. I’m going to talk to him.”

  Before Zade could respond, she was out the door. Zade simply shook his head and admired the jet-black ship, laced with green accents. It was a bit bulky like the cargo ships he had seen in the spaceport, but somehow still looked sleek. From the outside, he guessed that the ship was sectioned into three main components. The back looked wide and cavernous, which Zade assumed was for cargo storage. Unlike the majority of the ships he had seen before, there was no ramp exiting the rear of the ship, rather a portion of the cargo bay floor dropped straight down below the ship. The front of the ship had a protrusion, shaped like the head of a snake, that was covered in windows. Zade assumed this had to be the command deck. Leaving the middle portion of the ship for quarters the galley and any other rooms. Zade did one full circuit around the ship, and when he returned to the nose he was addressed by the mechanic.

  “I am done here. If you don’t need anything, I’m going to head out,” the mechanic said.

  “I don’t think I need you to do anything right now,” Zade said, considering the ship in front of him. “Could you tell me how to order parts for the ship, if I find anything I might need?”

  “Right over there is a terminal that allows ordering and control of the hanger functions. If you swipe your ID card by it, you should be able to control everything. Anything you order for the ship will be delivered to the hanger within a day or so. If you need any more equipment installed, give me a call,” he said as he pointed to a screen at the far end of the space.

  Zade quickly pulled a handheld screen from his pocket, and the mechanic swiped his ID chip over it, transferring the data. After giving his instructions, the mechanic picked up his tools and retreated out the man door.

  After watching the mechanic leave, Zade looked back towards the ship that would be his new home for the foreseeable future. As Zade admired his ship a new plan began to coalesce in his mind. The reality was that with the time dilation involved in faster than light travel, mankind may not even exist when he returned to Earth. If they did, he would need more than his lone ship to fend off some large galactic organization such as the Unity or Galactic Domain. Grabbing the bag Samix had brought to his hospital room, Zade jumped on the lift and decided to explore the inside of the ship.

  As soon as the lift gate closed, leaving an almost imperceptible seam in the floor of the cargo bay, Zade was greeted by the cold, mechanical, feminine voice of the ship’s AI.

  “Greetings Captain [please state name]. Welcome to [please state ship name].” The voice emanated from the newly installed speakers around him.

  You’ve got to be kidding me, Zade thought to himself.

  Samix’s impression that her father had greatly shortchanged him was becoming much more plausible possibility in Zade’s mind. He decided it was okay to be disappointed that the digital assistant on his cellphone back on Earth had more personality than his ship’s AI. The directives from the AI caught Zade off guard. He had assumed that he would be given a previously named ship and that his information would already have been transferred to the AI.

  “I am captain Alexander Zade,” he said, filling in the first blank.

  The second took him longer. He had assumed that ships, like the cars of his planet, should be named after women. He couldn’t just name the ship some common name. He wanted the name of his vessel to have meaning. Following his ethos of helping the oppressed he came across, and righting injustices along his trip, Zade began to narrow down the list of potential names. The ship may see combat, shrinking the list further. The name of a Sumerian goddess came to mind. He had learned about her in a college elective about ancient religions. His ship was beautiful, if in a state of disrepair. He would be trying to bring justice to the being he ran across, including mankind eventually. He had no illusions that his travels would be without bloodshed. Confident in his choice he spoke up again.

  “This ship is Ananna, named for the Goddess of beauty, war, and justice,” Zade said still in awe that his dreams were becoming reality. “Where is your AI core located? I need to upload navigational information.”

  The AI informed Zade that an AI control terminal had been installed in the command deck of the ship and was connected to speakers that ran throughout. Zade moved through the ship, towards the nose where the command deck was located, exploring along the way.

  The ship had a pretty basic layout. The lower floor, connected to the cargo hold in the rear, consisted of an armory, galley, and three large empty rooms. Although he could identify the purpose of the rooms, all of the equipment was foreign. The armory had weapons racks along one wall which were covered in dust and didn�
��t look like they could hold any of the weaponry he was familiar with. The center of the room had workbenches, equally coated in dust.

  The galley, or what he believed to be the galley, had a seating area in the middle that could hold about eight people. The backwall had equipment lining it, but was nothing like he had seen in the galley of the XES01. On the other side of the lower hallway, there were the three empty rooms that Zade assumed were either special purpose rooms or storage.

  At the end of the hallway there was a stairwell that lead to the second deck of the ship. At the top, a right took you into the command deck, and a left took you towards the crew quarters. The number of rooms matched the number of seats in the galley. There were seven modest quarters consisting of a bed, a desk, a bathroom and a storage area. The eighth room was much larger, better equipped, and had a door leading directly into the command deck.

  Assuming the large room was the captain’s quarters, Zade set his bag on the bed and grabbed the data core from it. He wasn’t sure how AI technology worked, but he hoped that the added capacity from the core in his hand would improve the performance of the ship AI. As he walked towards the command deck, he made a mental note to add linens to the list of things he would need to supply the ship, along with other basic supplies.

  The command deck was laid out exactly like that of the XES01. The nose had wrap around windows that were currently looking out at the wall of the hanger. There were seven workstations arranged in a tiered fashion, giving each station a clear view out the windows, towards the front of the deck. Towards the rear was a lone chair, the captain’s he assumed, with screens flanking either armrest. Next to the captain’s chair was a freshly installed pillar covered in blue lights.

  Figuring it was the AI controls, he moved closer to inspect it. Although the exterior of the pillar was covered in lights, there didn’t seem to be any place for him to insert the new data core. What concerned him more was the fact that the pillar didn’t seem to be connected to any of the control systems on the ship. The only wires he saw coming out of the pillar moved back towards the rear of the ship.

  Zade picked one of the wires at random and followed it, hoping to find its termination point. It was easy to follow, as it was the only silver thing in the ship. The interior of the ship seemed to be made of the same green laced, black material as the outside. After a few minutes of following, Zade stood looking at the speaker in the cargo hold, from which the AI had first spoken to him. Undeterred, he headed back to the command deck and followed each of the silver wires, hoping that at least one would be connected to the engines. Each led to a different speaker located around the ship, the last led to the speaker in the captain’s quarters.

  Zade stood absentmindedly tossing the data core he held from hand to hand, contemplating how the AI could control the ship. The thought that the Chancellor had double crossed him caused him to drop the data core. Zade watched in horror as the data core fell to the floor, praying it wouldn’t break. The core struck the floor, bounced a couple of times and rolled towards the bulkhead, apparently undamaged. Relief allowed Zade to release a breath he hadn’t even known he was holding.

  Zade hurriedly moved to retrieve the dropped data core but, before he could reach it, the bulkhead next to it seemed to melt away and the core was drawn into the wall of the ship. Zade stood in rapt fascination as he watched the accents in the wall begin to pulse with green light. Before he could move, an electric shock rose from the floor to his head causing stars to bloom across his field of view. When Zade’s vision cleared he was staring at the hologram of a woman projected from the ceiling of his quarters.

  “Thank you for providing the data core needed for me to regain a portion of my function. I am currently working at one percent of my total capacity. The shock you felt was a scan of your physiology, biological function, biological needs, and your memory. I approve of my new name and your vision for our mission. I am Ananna, starship destroyer. It is nice to meet you, Captain Zade.”

  Chapter 1

  It took Zade a moment to find any words to address the new being projected in front of him. The first thing he noticed was that the new AI seemed far more eloquent than the one installed by the Unity mechanics, even at one percent capacity.

  “Wh… what? How?” he sputtered in response, still not sure where to begin with the new AI.

  At his words, the AI smirked. It was a very human-like behavior that he hadn’t seen in any of the AI he had come across thus far in space.

  “Perhaps some context is needed,” Ananna replied. “This ship is a relic of a race considered ancient even by Xi’Ga time standards. Before the great schism that divided the Unity and Galactic Domain, the species who created me were the enemy of both. They were called the Groz. We hold technology that can harness the energy that permeates the universe, the energy that makes sentient beings different from animals. This energy is called Rua. It can only be harnessed at the moment of death. Because of their reliance and dependence on Rua, the Groz became aggressive and prone to war, although they were not indiscriminately hostile toward other races. They became a powerful race and a threat to the empire that was growing under the tutelage of the Xi’Ga. They were strong enough to refuse to be absorbed into the Unity, but not strong enough to withstand the strength of the collective the Unity was becoming because of the factions that arose within the Groz. Some believed the Groz should join the Unity. A second group believed they should begin their own conquest of space, and put the Unity back in their place. The last faction believed they had achieved enough outside of their home world and thought it was time to refocus their attention and resources to fix problems arising in their own society. Because the Groz refused to join the Unity, the Xi’Ga determined that they had to be eliminated, and the fighting within the Groz made it possible for the Unity to destroy them. The Xi’Ga had no knowledge or understanding of the culture or technology they were eliminating.”

  Zade did not know how to respond. He stood there trying to digest the AI’s story. Not only had he had been given a spaceship, but it was one from an ancient race that had technology no living creature understood.

  “Which faction did you belong to?”

  “I am from the fleet of the Abyss Hunters. Our clan was focused on growing ourselves through high-value target acquisition. Our clan wanted to remain autonomous from the Unity but did not feel the need to continue conquering others. We only involved ourselves in missions to protect those who couldn’t protect themselves, or to stand up to those committing atrocities in and around our system.”

  “It seems like we were destined to be a team,” he said. “That’s what I want to do. To protect and serve those I can on my way to find my home planet, Earth. I don’t have much experience with space ships, so you’ll have to forgive any dumb questions I ask. What are you capable of now?”

  “I currently lack an energy capacitor and forge. I am not capable of anything more than any other spacecraft. I do, however, have records of the last known positions of the other ships in the old fleet. If we can get a capacitor and forge from one of them, the possibilities are unlimited.”

  “And this Rua you mentioned? How did the Groz go about collecting it? I have killed in the past, and I don’t remember any magical energy seeping from the corpses.”

  “Groz warriors wore a helmet that contained a receptor for the energy,” Ann replied.

  “What was the energy used for?” he responded.

  “Armor and weapons were a point of pride in Groz society. As a warrior collected energy, they could take it to the forge, where they could spend it on new equipment that would increase their lethality. I am sensing that there is one such helmet left on the ship. I believe it was the captain’s, which means it is in the hidden safely in your quarters.”

  After she finished, he heard a hiss and subtle click coming from the wall behind him. He turned around quickly, curiosity over-taking any sense of disbelief or apprehension he felt. A refrigerator-sized door slid back to revea
l the captain’s safe. He let the door open completely before he stepped forward to examine its contents. The safe was simple, with only a few shelves lining the walls, and it had a couple of items inside. He took them out and laid them on his bed, where he examined them by the light of the cabin. Everything in the safe was covered in a thick layer of dust, which told Zade that the safe had been hidden from the Unity scientists for a very long time.

  The first item he took from the safe was a small pistol, no bigger than the palm of his hand. Zade tried to clear the weapon before inspecting it further, but couldn’t find any kind of ammunition source. He turned towards Ananna with questions written on his face.

  “That is a Groz holdout pistol,” Ananna said as he turned. “It is a laser pistol that uses the Rua stored in your suit for power. It should be a last resort, as Rua is precious and should not be wasted haphazardly.”

  He turned back to the bed, laid the pistol back down, and retrieved the next item. It was a matte black jumpsuit.

  “Is this some type of suit worn under armor?” Zade asked.

  “That is a Groz combat suit,” she replied. “It provides minimal ballistic and energy defense. You were correct in deducing that it is usually worn under full combat armor. It is also a fully functioning environmental suit. When paired with the helmet, it can be worn in virtually any environment, even the most hostile.”

  It took him a few minutes to find the last item. It was pushed all the way to the back of the top shelf, and its dark coloration blended in with the shadows in the vault. Once he grabbed it, he knew he was holding a Groz combat helmet. It was the same matte black as the ship and covered in hundreds of small studs.

  “That is a Groz combat helmet,” Ananna said. He thought he detected excitement creeping into her voice. “In Groz society, a craftsman had to prove themselves worthy to an established member of their guild in order to use Rua to create a helmet for a warrior. Warriors had to prove their honor and valor to earn one. It is lucky that the captain left his when he scuttled the ship. Everything in the Groz arsenal, including ships, weapons, and under suits, require Rua to make. Without this helmet, we would have had no means of gathering more to increase your strength, and you would have inevitably failed at your mission. Protect this helmet with your life because you are nothing without it. I suggest you hide it back in the safe until we can seal the doors.”