Preview: Coward’s Truth: A Novel of the Heart Eternal

One of my more recent ideas, this one involves a squad of space marines crash landing on a gunpowder age planet near a city everyone wants, but no one can have since it is ruled by the god-king. Too bad for them he dies on page one. Buckle up, this one is a wild ride.

Prologue

Hohn popped up from his bunk, confused. Klaxons blared throughout the ship, warning of impending peril. The Acheron rocked, throwing him and the others in the troop bay to the cold deck. Curses and snarls added to the growing confusion. Flood lights sprang on, bathing the barracks of the transport in unnatural brightness. The deck lurched beneath them. Hohn watched as packs and other equipment started sliding.

Years of experience focused his mind. Metal groaned deep within the Acheron’s bowels. He smelled fire. Melting wires. Hohn snatched his blouse from the bunk post and went to work. “On your feet, people! We’re under attack!”

Soldiers stirred. Hohn zipped the front of his blouse and reached for his boots, catching them after they began to slide away. One hundred men and women, the rest of his company, struggled to do the same. Packs were shouldered. Weapons grabbed. Hohn wasn’t the only one barking orders. Other squad leaders and platoon sergeants were struggling to maintain order, while desperate to understand the situation.

“Sergeant Hohn! I want everyone to the drop ships. The Acheron is breaking apart,” a thin, blue skinned lieutenant announced upon entering the bay.

Genius. A real krakking genius. “Yes, sir! You heard the El-Tee. Ruck up and move out. Squad leaders maintain positive control of your troops.”

The klaxons blared louder, pausing as the ship’s captain, his gravelly voice the product of a lifetime of smoking, said, “All hands, abandon ship. This is the Captain speaking. Abandon ship.”

Time was running out. Panic threatened to rob him of reason. Hohn wasn’t in the navy. He was a ground pounder, figuring it would be best to fall six feet to the dirt than out of the sky or get blasted apart in the forever of space. The Acheron was one of thirty troop transports taking his division to the R-n-R world of Kandron after a brutal seven-month campaign. The enemy had other plans.

Hohn’s fingers curled around the familiar plastic of his rifle after he buckled his body armor. He’d learned early in his career that the best way to avoid damaging thoughts was to put the needs of subordinates first. As long as he had men and women who looked up to him, he had purpose. Frightened faces looked back at him. Three of the lights burst, darkening specific parts of the bay in a shower of sparks and glass. They weren’t going to make it to the drop ships unless he acted fast.

“Sarge, what do we do?” a nervous private shouted. More heads turned in his direction.

Hohn winced at the term, for he despised being called sarge. That was a battle for another time. “Collect up everything you can and head for your ships. Squad leaders, if the way becomes blocked, I want everyone in the nearest escape pods. Understand?”

Chimes of ‘Yes, sergeant’, echoed back. He nodded. Good. “Move out!”

Soldiers began filing out, where raw chaos greeted them. Crewmembers rushed down the once pristine corridors, desperate to escape. Lost was any thought of duty. Fear for their lives forced them onward as the Acheron burned around them. Screams of panic could be heard and it was all Hohn could do to swallow his own fears.

He snatched the same private who’d asked the question as he was shuffling through the door. “We’re going to make it. Remember your training and listen to your squad leader.”

Comforted by the lie, the soldier nodded and hurried off. Hohn watched as the rest of the company went by. He did a quick sweep to ensure no one had been left behind before joining the others. The Acheron shuddered under his boots, reverberating deep into his bones. He’d seen starships break apart before. Unimaginable horror as crews were sucked into the vacuum to die without a sound. There was no worse way to go, in his estimation.

Drawing a deep breath, Hohn entered the corridor and headed to the loading bays. He tried not to think about what went wrong but the thoughts grew stronger the farther his feet carried him. Did the enemy strike? A warhead might have detonated from one of the ammo bays. The possibilities were endless, and none of them mattered. Yellow lights flashed down the length of the corridor. He barely noticed when the klaxons stopped. Men and women shouted and cried out.

Hohn caught snippets of conversation. Phrases otherwise meaningless. A bulkhead collapse on C Deck. Friends were spaced. Fires raged unchecked in the engine room. The bridge was sealed off and nothing rescuers attempted could open the doors. None of it was good. He’d already suspected the ship was almost dead. Necessary systems were beginning to shut down and it was only a matter of time before the critical ones followed. If the bay doors couldn’t open …

He let the thought fade. Thinking of death held no place in a soldier’s mind. Of the many things a soldier could control, death remained untouchable. Variables dominated the battlefield. Worrying about death was as pointless as dreaming of home in the middle of a firefight. Better men than he had lost that fight, prompting him to vow to never think about what can’t be controlled. A promise. He’d made a promise. See to your soldiers and the rest will sort itself.

The Acheron pitched hard to starboard, throwing his shoulder into the wall. Cursing, he shoved off and picked up the pace. It wouldn’t be long before the entire ship broke apart and he had no desire to drift across the void for eternity. The loading bays were too far off. He wasn’t going to make it in time. The situation demanded change. Hohn started collecting the soldiers nearby and directing them to the closest life pod bank.

Each pod held ten, with enough rations and water to last one week. Army pods also contained basic ammunition loads and first aid kits. Everything a squad needed to stay on its feet until a rescue party arrived. Several had already launched. Featureless grey doors slammed shut in their place. Hohn found the first empty one and started shoving people inside. Once filled, he slammed the side of his fist into the securing button. Doors shut, and the pod launched.

A quick head count left him with eight others. They hurried inside, leaving him alone. Hohn was about to enter when movement drew his attention. A female crew member in standard black uniform was running his way. The orange glow of flames raced behind her. He was faced with the difficult decision of saving almost a full squad or trying to save one more. Professionalism took over.

“Hurry up! We’ve got room for one more!” he shouted over the rising noise of the Acheron disintegrating.

Flames reflected in his eyes. She was still thirty meters away and flames were catching up. She wasn’t going to make it. Hohn closed his eyes and whispered a prayer as the initial wall of fire lit her backside. Her screams cut off as he closed the life pod doors and collapsed in one of the empty couches. Automatic safety belts slid down his shoulders and across his waist, locking him in place as the pod launched.

Hohn’s head struck the cushion behind him. He wanted to cry, but emotions were for the weak. The others would look to him for strength. Experience taught him the only time for a leader to show weakness or emotion was alone, in the heartless comforts of the sleeping bag when no one was watching. Unable to stand what he thought was accusatory looks, Hohn turned his head to peer out the tiny porthole. He wished he hadn’t.

The final ruination of the Acheron played out before him. Flames erupted in massive balls of exploding gas, only to snuff out an instant later. Bodies drifted away. He saw the bridge explode with more fury than an assault division could muster. A drop ship, caught in the blast, disintegrated as building sized pieces of shrapnel sliced through it. All those people.

A glimpse of a planet, nothing more than a split second, showed him a large giant of swirling greens, blues, and browns. Not Kandron. So where are … Debris struck the life pod, jarring his head into a computer console to the right. Hohn blacked out before finishing the thought.