Chapter Nine
Changes keep on coming
Nellie floated in the web of information, strings winding from her head and body and off into the distance. It had taken her a week of real-time to finally make it all conform to her way of doing things, but it was worth it.
Before, she had been constantly having to keep the storm of information at bay to avoid being overwhelmed. That didn’t happen now. Information entered her network of decision tree...
2024-08-13 08:00:03 +0000 UTC
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Chapter Eight
Docking
Crush breathed a sigh of relief when the Talon dropped out of Transit Space, hearing Cara and Andy doing the same. After the disaster on the arc ship none of them were going to be comfortable in that chaotic mess of a place. Not for a long time.
“Scan?” Crush called immediately.
“Clearing now,” Sec called, “We are clear.”
Crush looked at the command screen, seeing the line of ships stretching ...
2024-08-12 08:00:08 +0000 UTC
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Chapter Seven
One small step
The Indomitable maintained a steady orbit as the two women on board bickered about where to land. Below them, the single massive continent waited. The strange landmass curved up and over the top half of the planet, a long arm down the far side thinning as it passed the equator until it terminated in a series of islands that polka-dotted the seas and oceans in a curving pattern that curled around the bottom of the planet a...
2024-08-08 08:00:02 +0000 UTC
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Chapter Six
New beginnings
Nellie read and reread the messages, but no matter how many times she did, they didn’t change.
At least she knew it wasn’t an attack now. The transfer process was a lot more than uncomfortable. Nell had almost ended up braindead as a result. If she hadn’t spent all that time practicing her control of the nanites…
Never mind, practice she had, and alive she was.
It had only cost her the ...
2024-08-07 08:00:06 +0000 UTC
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Chapter Five
Messages
First Message received - Sender: Lucy.
Hey Nell,
I know you are really busy up there, so I am sending this instead. I have received a response to the message we sent back. They are talking in the same language as us, which is strange, don’t you think?
I’ve switched languages for the reply. I’m using native Nanite AI code. No one uses that anymore, not even...
2024-08-06 08:00:05 +0000 UTC
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Chapter Four
Opening Moves
“I have it programmed to be in Transit Space for about an hour and a half, then exit and return after a long-range scan if possible,” Boone reported as the Orb launched from the Sparklight.
The Carrier had been moved into position a short distance away from the Jump Point that had brought them to this system. As far as they knew, it was the only one not guaranteed to be guarded on the other end by the Imperial Lin...
2024-08-05 08:00:06 +0000 UTC
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Chapter Three
Bad News
The charts provided by the strange Captain Blagden and his crew did not paint a very pretty picture. Their system was blockaded by well over one hundred fifty ships, most of them cruisers or even capital ships.
“They are only blockading us on three sides,” Salem noted, her elegant finger tapping insistently on the one jump point not covered by enemy ships. It was the jump point that had brought them to this syst...
2024-08-01 08:00:07 +0000 UTC
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Chapter Two
Unexpected Arrivals.
Greetings,
We extend our warmest greetings to you, the maker of this small scout vehicle. One of our gate devices recovered it as part of its automatic gathering routines. No harm or ill intent was involved in this act. It was purely automatic, and safeguards are in place to ensure sentient life is not affected.
This discovery makes it clear that there is civilization at th...
2024-07-31 08:00:08 +0000 UTC
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Chapter One
Change is the only constant
“Explain this, please,” Salem said sternly. Her eyes raked over The Girl, taking in all the changes.
“Explain what?” The Girl replied innocently.
The last time Salem had seen The Girl, she had been a thin, sort of gangly child who could have passed for anything from ten to twelve years old, depending on the expression on her face. Short, messy hair, baggy clothes, and a constant layer of gri...
2024-07-30 08:00:04 +0000 UTC
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Prologue
Four months after the battle…
The outer rim of Sagacity controlled space — Border with Nanite Imperium.
Fleet Admiral Hardwicke leaned over the command screen and brought up the details on the jump point. It was one of three possible exits in this system from the Nanite Imperium’s system. All around the bridge, his people moved and muttered commands into their headsets while trying to gain a slight adv...
2024-07-29 08:00:10 +0000 UTC
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Chapter Sixty
Evolving Situations
Wesley stumbled out the door of the safe room after the others and collapsed against the cliff wall, looking anxiously around to see if there was anything that looked urgent.
Like a bit of the cliff shearing off.
Nothing seemed different than before, so he closed his eyes and allowed the process to continue.
Profession Evolution Proceeding...
...
2024-07-26 08:00:04 +0000 UTC
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Chapter Fifty-Nine
Sleeping through the end of the world.
Wesley woke from a deep, dreamless sleep, immediately knowing something was wrong. The silence in the safe room immediately made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.
For a short and heart-stopping moment, Wesley thought he was alone. Wes decided that the revelation of exactly how much that feeling terrified him would have to wait until he found out what was happening.&nb...
2024-07-25 08:10:01 +0000 UTC
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Hey all,
Now that we have completed Book 3 I just wanted to take a moment to let you know about the plans for Book 4, which is already well underway and (I think) even better than Book 3.
And speaking of Book 4, there will be a change to the posting schedule beginning next week.
I will post a total of 4 chapters each week (Seriously, not just because it is book 4, that is just a coincidence) with one released a day every Mom, Tues, Wed, and Thurs.
You can expect the pr...
2024-07-25 08:01:01 +0000 UTC
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Chapter Fifty-Eight
Down Under
“Everyone get ready,” Wesley called as he readied the shovel. “It will probably attack the second one of us touches down.”
“No shit!” Dolin snapped.
“Shut up, Dolin!” Another woman called over. “You dozy bitch.”
“Ah, kiss my ass, Rachael, you stuck up—” Dolin started.
“Focus!” Malin yelled. “Or do you want to die?”
Silence, tense and full, fell over the slo...
2024-07-24 08:00:06 +0000 UTC
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Chapter Fifty-Seven
Welcome to the Jungle
Wesley marveled at the changes a few upgrades could make.
To say that the troops had been surprised by the creation of a literal pile of upgrade cubes would be like saying a starving man was surprised by the offer of a three-course dinner. They were more than amazed at the smiling Joy handing them out to the surviving troops. They were ecstatic.
Nothing could wash away the horrors they...
2024-07-23 08:10:01 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 55
Epilogue
Sector Space - 1 week after the battle ended.
A week in transit space had not improved either of their moods, and Carter was more than looking forward to a shower when their shuttle dropped back into regular space.
“I’m seeing minimal traffic in the system,” Maxton replied from the seat behind him. “A couple of stations, a single habitable world, but it’s wreathed in dust.”...
2024-07-23 08:05:01 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 54
Search and Rescue
“Hand in there, Cara!” Crush grimaced as he felt something tear inside his guts. Power armor could do a lot, but gut-shot was gut-shot. Carrying a half-dead friend over your shoulder at the same time was simply not advisable in his current condition.
Crush put his head down and ran faster before blood loss could finish him off.
“Stop!” Cara yelled. “Please, I-I can’t,” She sobbed.
“Shut u...
2024-07-23 08:00:06 +0000 UTC
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Chapter Fifty-Six
The Morning After
Wesley had no idea how long he sat on the wall, watching for movement. What he did know was that it was light when he blinked and came back to himself.
All around him, people were moving listlessly. Many were just sitting, staring into space the way he had been.
“Come on, Wes,” He muttered to himself, forcing himself to stand. “No use just sitting here.”
Taking his own advice, ...
2024-07-22 08:00:06 +0000 UTC
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Chapter Fifty-Five
The Sundered Day
Rupert, for all he looked like the usual gormless posh boy, was right on the money when it came to them facing a completely different enemy from the previous night.
Their first clue came when the creatures reappeared, clad in the scavenged armor of the bandits they had killed. Their approach varied, and very few pieces were correctly used, but it was undoubtedly effective. One Wesley remembered mainly—one o...
2024-07-21 08:00:06 +0000 UTC
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Chapter Fifty-Four
The Ravening Horde
“Hold!” Malia called as the charging creatures hit the base of the rise. Every second, they got closer. Malia stared, unblinking, until the lead one drew back its long, thin arm to launch the spear. “FIRE!”
The archers fired, sending a hail of arrows at their attackers, while Wesley picked targets, taking them out one at a time. He fired five times before the first arrow struck, the front lines of t...
2024-07-20 08:00:04 +0000 UTC
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Chapter Fifty-Three
On the road again.
Bob and Earl waved them off, and as a reward, they earned themselves a couple of slices of Joy’s freshly baked pie.
Honestly, after a couple of bites, they almost volunteered to accompany them to the South before sanity and self-preservation reminded them they were on gate duty for a reason. Namely, they were best suited to yelling for help and then standing with a very heavy gate between them and danger...
2024-07-19 08:00:03 +0000 UTC
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Chapter Fifty-Two
The Assignment.
Wesley spent much of the following day working with Earnshaw’s people to develop their new crafting production line. The Mayor had set up quite the system overnight, with repair materials collected in a central location for conversion into upgrade cubes, mods, and reinforcements.
Naturally, there was still a fair amount of secrecy around the whole thing. The actual conversion was being done by a team of three...
2024-07-18 08:05:01 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 53
This far, but no further.
“STOP!” Lucy screamed in her ear, but Nellie ignored her as she reached out to the nanites in the Bly. They responded in their millions, responding to her call.
One word echoed in her mind as she prepared to unleash them all.
Consume.
“Stop!” Lucy said again as the world faded away and was replaced by a white room.
“What’s happening?” Nellie whirled, feeling a wall between her...
2024-07-18 08:00:04 +0000 UTC
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Chapter Fifty-One
The old and the new.
“Hey, shit! Hey!” The gate guards began to wave excitedly as they drew near to the city. “I said he’d come! Didn’t I, Bob? Didn’t I say?”
“We both said,” the grinning Bob nodded. “You know we both said it, Earl.”
“Yeah, but I said it first!” Earl replied proudly as they drew near to the tightly closed gates. “I said it, I did. I said that Wolf’s Bane Wesley would be back...
2024-07-17 08:00:04 +0000 UTC
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Chapter Fifty
Bad news never comes alone
The Keeper had left them alone for a minute, which was kind of him. Malia was staring at her badge as if she had never seen it before, and Wesley didn’t blame her. Those people, whoever they had been, were her people.
“I’m sorry,” Wesley said again, coming to stand next to her. He didn’t put a hand on her shoulder or hug her. He just stood there, letting her know he was there if she...
2024-07-16 08:10:01 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 52
Above and Below
Nellie's face contorted in pain as the Talon absorbed another brutal blow. The modified cruiser, now a wounded beast, started to tilt to one side as its thrusters sputtered and failed.
“How long until that beam is up?” Nellie yelled over the warning klaxons.
“Thirty seconds!” Remy replied.
“Pilot, get us a line on that capital ship!” Nellie ordered. “Remy, fire on my order!”
“Talon ...
2024-07-16 08:05:00 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 51
Boarding Party
Tippett waited his turn at the back of the line, more than happy to allow the higher ranks to be the first ones through the door.
“Seals locked! Move! Move! Move!” Silver's voice boomed, the urgency in his command palpable. The Imperial Line Security Force, known for their strict hierarchy, used the names of metals to signify rank, a system that left no room for sentiment.
It was stupid. Tippett m...
2024-07-16 08:00:04 +0000 UTC
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Chapter Forty-Nine
The Trouble with Feeling Safe.
Wesley sat and ate a cold pie while Malia fussed over the haircut she was giving Joy. It was the final step in making her ‘safe,’ or rather the closest to it you could get in this world.
A haircut, a change of clothes—and absolutely no one touching her tail—was all she needed now. At least, all she needed that they could do for her.
The Keeper&nbs...
2024-07-15 08:01:00 +0000 UTC
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Chapter Forty-Eight
Loot and Scoot
It was crazy; it really was. Wesley looked around at the destruction around him and had to ask… How is this my life?
A little over an hour earlier, Wes had dropped a seven-story stone tower on a creature that looked like it belonged on the cover of a heavy metal album. Now, he was walking around a marshland covered in half-collapsed trenches and dirt walls, tapping corpses to make them disappear and collecti...
2024-07-14 08:01:00 +0000 UTC
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Chapter Forty-Seven
Take it all!
“Need backup!” Wesley called as he started to fire on the approaching horde. This was the weakness of his strategy. He could defend easily enough against a spread-out attack, but an attack from a single direction could break through if they were determined enough.
That was the grim reality as Wesley was forced to retreat from the wall. His regular shots were futile against the armored undead, and even his
2024-07-13 08:01:00 +0000 UTC
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