The Short End: Broken Galaxy Book Four Read online

  THE SHORT END

  Broken Galaxy Book Four

  Phil Huddleston

  Contents

  Title Page

  From Earlier Books

  Attention to Orders

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Epilogue

  Author Notes

  Preview - Book Five (Mid-2021)

  About the Author

  Broken Galaxy Book Four: The Short End

  by Phil Huddleston

  Copyright © 2021 by Phil Huddleston

  THE AUTHOR RETAINS ALL RIGHTS FOR THIS BOOK

  ISBN eBook: 978-1-7351396-8-5

  ISBN Paperback: 978-1-7351396-9-2

  Reproduction or transmission of this book, in whole or in part, by electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or by any other means is strictly prohibited, except with prior written permission from the author or the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law. Inquiries may be directed to [email protected]

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, locations, organizations, and events portrayed are either products of the author’s creative imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual names, characters, events, businesses, locales, or persons is coincidental and not intended to infringe on any copyright or trademark.

  Cover Art by Ad Astra Book Covers

  [email protected]

  Books on Amazon

  www.amazon.com/author/philhuddleston

  Keep up to date with new releases by signing up at

  www.philhuddleston.com/newsletter

  Imprint Series

  Artemis War (prequel)

  Imprint of Blood

  Imprint of War

  Imprint of Defiance

  Broken Galaxy Series

  Broken Galaxy

  Star Tango

  The Long Edge of Night

  The Short End

  www.facebook.com/philhuddlestonauthor

  www.instagram.com/sfwritertx

  To R.S. Huddleston, who taught me how to avoid bull nettles and poison ivy, how to drive a John Deere tractor, and how not to bother armadillos. And who, by sitting quietly smoking his pipe when all around was chaos, taught me my most important lesson.

  And a special thanks to my advance readers, who help me so much. I can never repay you guys for the insight you give me. And a special thanks to Don Barnhart, who has given me great insight for the last two books. Thank you Don!

  From Earlier Books

  Broken Galaxy - The name used to describe the current state of affairs in the Orion Arm of the Milky Way. The ancient Golden Empire lasted for twenty thousand years; but two thousand years ago it collapsed, throwing the Arm into a Dark Age from which it is still recovering.

  Earth Defense Force (EDF) - the starship fleet of Admiral Rita Page. Originally a rag-tag lend-lease fleet loaned to Rita by the Nidarians. After the Battle of Jupiter, when Rita narrowly pushed the invading Ashkelon out of the Solar System, she named it the EDF. In a preemptive strike to prevent another invasion of Earth, Rita took the EDF fleet to the Ashkelon home system where she fought them again, decimating both sides and leading to a stalemate.

  Jim Carter - U.S. Marine turned mercenary pilot turned semi-retired hermit turned space pilot. Fought the starship Jade at the Battle of Dutch Harbor. Fought the Ashkelon invasion at the Battle of Saturn and the Battle of Jupiter. Forced to decide between his love for Bonnie and Rita, he chose Rita, leaving Bonnie bitter but accepting. Most recently served in the Battle of Deriko as CAG (Commander Attack Group) for the EDF.

  Bonnie Page - Ex-Air Force fighter pilot; first the lover of Jim Carter, later the lover of Rita Page. After the Battle of Dutch Harbor involving Jade, Corresse, Russia, America, and Canada, Bonnie and Rita hitched a ride on the corvette Corresse to ask the Nidarian Empire for help in saving Earth from the Ashkelon invasion. Bonnie was coerced by Nidarian High Councilor Garatella to find the ancient and highly advanced starship Dragon - a relic of the former Golden Empire. In time, she located the long-lost warship - but disobeyed Garatella and kept it for Earth. As Captain of the Dragon, fought a number of battles in the Sol System and at Ashkelon.

  Rita Page, Admiral of the Black - Clone created by the renegade starship Jade with the dual memories, knowledge, and feelings of both Jim Carter and Bonnie Page. As a result of her dual consciousness, she was in love with both Jim and Bonnie. Took Bonnie’s last name since she didn’t have one of her own. Fought Jade at the Battle of Dutch Harbor. Went to Nidaria with Bonnie, returned with a rag-tag Nidarian lend-lease fleet to fight the Ashkelon invasion. Against all odds, drove the Ashkelon away from Earth, but not before the Ashkelon imprisoned 96,000 Human slaves and carried them away in large slave ships. Undertook a preemptive strike against the Ashkelon home system to prevent further invasions. Fought the Ashkelon to a standstill at the Battle of Deriko.

  Zukra - Grand Admiral of the Ashkelon Empire. Recently performed a coup on his leadership, killing all who stood in his way. Now in firm control of the government, he intends to create a vast Empire spanning the entire Orion Arm. But first he must get through the Humans who have him stalemated in his own system.

  Garatella - High Councilor of the Nidarian Empire. Lent an old, broken-down fleet of warships - with a temporary Nidarian crew - to Rita Page to defend against the Ashkelon. When Rita fought off the invasion and drove the Ashkelon out of the Sol System, Garatella decided Humanity was too dangerous to allow their expansion into space and turned on them. Sent a fleet to assist Zukra against the Humans and their temporary Nidarian crews, leading to the Battle of Deriko.

  Tatiana - A young half-English, half-Ukrainian woman arrested by the Ukrainian police for drug smuggling. She was handed over to the Ashkelon as they were filling their slave ships with Human prisoners. Imprisoned in a large wire cage on a slave ship sent to the planet Deriko along with 96,000 other Human prisoners. After arrival at Deriko, initiated a slave rebellion and pushed the Ashkelon off the planet.

  Dragon - an advanced destroyer of the ancient Golden Empire, lost for two thousand years in a canyon on Mars. Re-discovered and repaired by Bonnie Page. Technology obtained from Dragon was retrofitted to the remainder of the EDF Fleet in preparation for a counterattack on the Ashkelon. Plans for the Dragon’s advanced stardrive were sent to Nidarian High Councilor Garatella in partial fulfillment of the original bargain to help Earth; but plans for the advanced weapon of the Dragon - the gamma lance - were held back by Rita Page as a bargaining chip for further Nidarian assistance. However, due to a spy placed by Garatella in the Nidarian crew sent to assist Rita, the design for the gamma lance was obtained by both Garatella and Admiral Zukra.

  Jade - a sentient scout ship which crashed into the Canadian Northwest Territo
ry in 1947 and lay undiscovered for many decades. Found by Jim Carter and brought back to life. Falsely claimed to be Nidarian but was actually Ashkelon. Intent on escaping Earth and returning to Ashkelon to effect the enslavement of Humanity, Jade created the clone Rita to assist in repairs and to take back as a specimen.

  Captain Bekerose - Flag Captain of the battlecruiser Merkkessa, the flagship of the Earth Defense Force. A Nidarian.

  Gillian Carter Rodgers - Sister of Jim Carter. Guardian of Imogen, the child of Rita Page and Jim Carter.

  Mark Rodgers - Husband of Jim Carter’s sister Gillian.

  The Bear - A big male grizzly that attacked Jim Carter in the Canadian Northwest Territories, leading him to discover Jade in his attempt to escape. Now a large bearskin in the Flag Cabin of the battlecruiser Merkkessa.

  Attention to Orders

  By order of EDF Fleet Admiral Rita Page and in recognition for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity under fire in the recent actions against the combined forces of the Ashkelon and Nidarian Empires, the following individuals are promoted to the positions indicated:

 

  ● Captain Hideo Sato to Admiral, Battlecruiser Cube One. Admiral Sato will utilize Asiana as his flagship.

  ● Captain Bonnie Page to Commodore, Destroyer Wing. Commodore Page will utilize Dragon as her command ship.

  ● Lieutenant Rachel Gibson to Commander and transferred to the staff of Fleet Admiral Rita Page as Assistant Flag Aide.

  ● Lieutenant Dan Worley to Commander and Chief Engineering Officer, Dragon.

  ● Ensign (Brevet Lieutenant) Emma Gibbs to Lieutenant and Tactical Officer, Dragon.

 

  POSTHUMOUS PROMOTIONS

  By order of EDF Fleet Admiral Rita Page, the following individuals are promoted posthumously to the ranks indicated. May they rest in peace.

 

  ● Captain Tarraine Mountain Child One, Nidarian, of the cruiser Daeddam, to Admiral.

  ● Commander Lirrassa Ocean Child Six, Nidarian, of the destroyer Dragon, to Captain.

  ● Commander Sarah North, Human, of the destroyer Dragon, to Captain.

  ● Lieutenant Commander Harry McMaster, Human, of the destroyer Dragon, to Commander.

  ● Ensign Gary Goodwin, Human, of the destroyer Dragon, to Lieutenant (j.g.).

 

  Chapter One

  Planet Nidaria - City of Sanctuary

  Government House

  High Councilor Garatella of the Nidarian Empire stared angrily across the desk.

  “I’m getting a little tired of your excuses, Admiral.”

  Before him, Fleet Admiral Tanno sat - but he sat at attention. He knew he was in trouble. All it would take would be the flick of Garatella’s finger - a quick word to the right person - and Tanno would be nothing but a faint memory. An unexpected suicide. Another admiral relegated to the dustbin of history.

  For Tanno was the admiral who had sent a Nidarian expeditionary fleet to assist Admiral Zukra in the attack on the Humans. And Tanno was the admiral who had assured Garatella it would be a pushover - after all, the Humans had little experience in space warfare, while the Nidarians and the Ashkelon had been fighting in space for thousands of years.

  As it turned out, pushover was not exactly the word Tanno would now use. The tattered remnants of his expeditionary force had come straggling back to Nidaria, shot to hell, with the story of a battle that left space littered with the broken bodies of thousands of spacers - and the broken wrecks of a half-dozen of their front-line warships. Tanno had been patching up damaged ships for three months now, and still wasn’t finished.

  “Aye, High Councilor. I did not mean to make excuses. But we require another three months to launch a second campaign against the Humans. There’s a limit to how hard I can drive the workers in the space dock.”

  “Bah!” Garatella spat, turning in his chair to stare out his window. From the top floor of Government House, the city of Sanctuary spread out before him. It stretched for miles, straddling the river Tassa flowing through the center of the city to a large bay. Far off, right at the horizon, Garatella could see the bay flare out where it met the ocean. Boats - commercial and pleasure - dotted the bay, which gleamed brightly in the morning sun. And far across the bay, almost lost in the distance, the tip of Mount Tassakka could be seen - a shield volcano 3,700 meters high, towering over the plains that surrounded Sanctuary.

  “We’re losing valuable time!” Garatella growled bitterly. “That stupid Human witch Rita sits at Deriko, right in front of Zukra’s nose, taunting us! But at some point, she’s going to realize she can’t stay there - that position is not defensible. We have to attack her again before she leaves!”

  “Councilor, I must tell you,” Tanno spoke. “I think she knows that already. She is playing with us. For the moment, she has Zukra pinned in place - preventing him from attacking Earth, or Asdif or Ursa, or taking any other major action. She has him temporarily bottled up on his own planet, in his own system. And of course, that also keeps us pinned - the terms of our alliance with Zukra compel us to go to his aid before any other action. I think this Human admiral is smarter than we thought.”

  Garatella spun back to face Tanno. “But why not send our fleet to come in behind her, while Zukra sallies out from Ridendo? She’d be caught between the two fleets! She wouldn’t stand a chance!”

  Tanno shook his head. “Councilor, with all due respect, space warfare isn’t like land warfare. It’s three dimensional, and it involves incredible distances. She would know of our arrival in the system behind her in plenty of time to make an escape.”

  Garatella sniffed. “So what is our strategy, then?”

  “We must have patience, High Councilor. We must finish building out the new battlecruisers, cruisers, and destroyers as planned. We must complete the repairs on our fleet. We can then rejoin Zukra at Ashkelon. That will give him enough strength to leave a protective force around Ridendo shielding it from Human attacks, while our combined fleet attacks them. They will run - of that I am certain. We pursue them wherever they go, chasing them down until they can run no more. Then we destroy them.”

  “If they run to Earth?”

  “That’s actually the best scenario for us, High Councilor. That puts them far away from any potential allies to Coreward. We can bombard their planet with nukes, while our fleet fights them in their own solar system. We’ll make short work of them there.”

  “And if she’s smart enough to run the other way?”

  “Then her most likely destination would be Dekanna, to join forces with the Dariama there. That would also play into our hands - the Dariama are notorious cowards. They’ll break and run at the first sight of our combined fleet entering their system. And that will leave the Humans to fight alone.”

  Garatella glared at his senior admiral. “You’d better be right this time, Tanno. I don’t fancy losing another battle to these damn upstart Humans! The Council is not happy with the results of our last adventure. And if I go down, Tanno…”

  Garatella left the threat unsaid.

  Tanno didn’t have to hear the rest. Sweat ran down his spine. His hands shook as Garatella dismissed him. Rising to leave, his knees were shaky as he moved to the door. Tanno realized he had only one choice.

  The Humans must die. All of them. Right down to the last ship. And then their planet must be wiped clean. They must not be allowed to expand into space.

  Or I’ll have a sudden, unexplained suicide.

  Ashkelon System - Planet Deriko

  Battlecruiser EDF Merkkessa - in orbit

  Commander Rachel Gibson entered her cabin and smiled. Commander Dan Worley was already there. He had somehow sandwiched a small table into the tiny compartment. The little table had a white tablecloth, and two electric candles that looked almost like the real thing. Between the candles was a silver serving dish.

/>   And flowers. He had flowers. Little purple flowers that looked a bit like lilacs. Small blossoms, but beautiful.

  “Where on Earth did you get these?” Rachel exclaimed, reaching out to touch them in wonder. Her dark brown eyes flashed in delight.

  “Not “on Earth”. On Deriko,” Dan replied. “I traded with one of the shuttle pilots for them.”

  “Lord help me, I hope you didn’t give him one of our engines,” Rachel laughed. “Flowers! Of all things! On a starship! You’re crazy, you know that?”

  Dan moved behind her and pulled out her chair. “It’s your birthday, love! I had to do something!”

  “Oh my Lord, you’re right! I completely forgot!” Rachel sat, eying the serving dish. “What’s that?” she asked suspiciously.

  “Oh, just a little something I whipped up,” Dan responded with a glint in his eye. “You’ll like it.” Dan removed the top to the serving dish and waved a hand. “Viola! Meatloaf!”

  Rachel stared in horror. “Impossible! We haven’t seen real meat in two months! Did you kill something on Deriko? I’m not eating alien meat, you idiot!”

  Dan sat in his chair, grinning. “Nope. It’s not from Deriko, don’t worry. I made a deal with one of the ammunition barge pilots last month. He brought me two pounds of actual ground beef, straight from Earth, hidden in one of the missile containers.”

  “What did you have to give him?” Rachel asked suspiciously. “A starship?”

  “Just a few small items. Nothing to worry about,” said Dan.

  “What?” persisted Rachel. “I know you, Dan. And I know how impossible it is to get real meat from Earth out here. What did you give him?”

  Dan shrugged. “Just a few odds and ends left over from the battle. It was all scrap, going to be trashed anyway. But he can sell them on Earth as genuine souvenirs of the Battle of Deriko. He makes a few bucks, we get meatloaf.”