Honor Bound Read online

  Praise for Ruins of the Galaxy

  “Solid writing. Fun. Pew Pew, KTF!”

  —Nick Cole, best-selling co-author of Galaxy’s Edge, and author of Soda Pop Soldier, and CNTL ALT Revolt!

  “If you like space opera, you’ve come to the right place.”

  —Mauricio Longo, Amazon Reader

  “If you like military sci-fi but with heart, this series is for you.”

  —Nathan Reimer, Amazon Reader

  “As a Star Wars Science Fiction lover, I am so happy to have another world to explore. I can’t wait to see where this story goes.”

  —Jon Bliss, Amazon Reader

  “If you’re looking for your next fun addiction in space-mil-opera, this is the way to go!”

  —Walt Robillard, Amazon Reader

  “If you like Star Wars or the Galaxy’s Edge series, you will enjoy this immensely.”

  —Ricky Adams, Amazon Reader

  “If you love sci-fi and want to get your mind blown, look no further. Ruins ranks among my top three favorite sci-fi series ever.”

  —Aaron Seaman, Amazon Reader

  “Fans of Zahn will love this series. I really love the character building and depth, world building. Great fun sci-fi space opera. Literally can’t wait for next installment.”

  —David Seaman, Amazon Reader

  “I highly recommend this book if you have interest in action, intrigue, science fiction, outer space, books, trust issues, cats, food, or oxygen. 10/10 would read again.”

  —Caleb Baker, Amazon Reader

  “Guaranteed to keep you reading from beginning to end.”

  —Kevin Zoll, Amazon Reader

  “Best sci-fi I have read in many years… has that Star Wars feel to it. Love it!”

  —Ryan, Amazon Reader

  “A fresh adventure into a galaxy full of complex politics, amazing scientific feats, and—of course—outstanding characters.”

  —Nathan Jaffrey, Amazon Reader

  “Like Star Wars, Galaxy’s Edge, The Dark Tower, Lord of the Rings, Song of Ice and Fire… This book is another fun series to start on.”

  —Matthew Titus, Amazon Reader

  “An epic space odyssey… you never know what is going to happen next!”

  —Myrna Pace, Amazon Reader

  “If you are in to Star Wars, Firefly, Battlestar Galactica, then you will definitely love this book. A must read!”

  —Tom Graban, Amazon Reader

  “Once you start though, take care to water your plants, feed your children, and bathe yourself because you will forget what planetary time zone you are in.”

  —Josh Jensen, Amazon Reader

  “Astonishingly colorful characters that you can’t help growing attached to; painted in a universe you could only hope to one day visit.”

  —Elizabeth Bettger, Amazon Reader

  “A great series for anyone who likes sci-fi space operas.”

  —Ed Andocs, Amazon Reader

  “Heart-pounding military sci-fi at its best! Own the field (OTF)!”

  —Dr. Aaron Campbell, Amazon Reader

  “Ambitious sci-fi, beautiful world building, kinetic action, and interesting characters.”

  —Billy Jepma, Amazon Reader

  “Ruins is Christopher Hopper at his best… truly must-read sci-fi.”

  —Shane Marolf, Amazon Reader

  “Exciting and engaging read. Can’t wait to see what comes next.”

  —John Clark, Amazon Reader

  “Pleasantly surprised and enjoyed every second. Hopper really brought his characters and universe to life… makes me feel like I’m part of the op. 10/10.”

  —Jaymin Sullivan, Amazon Reader

  “Ruins is amazing! ...Masterfully written with characters and a plot that draw you in from page one.”

  —Judd Ford, Amazon Reader

  “Classic intergalactic adventure has never been so new, nor the stakes so high."

  —Caleb Baker, Amazon Reader

  “Ruins of the Galaxy is surely going to be among the greats.”

  —Ollie Longchamps, Amazon Reader

  “The classic adventure tale spun into a space opera readily accessible to everyone, cerebral enough for hardcore sci-fi fans, and human enough to be a darn good read.”

  —Joseph Wessner, Amazon Reader

  “A refreshingly diffaerent and unique take on science fiction. I couldn’t put it down!”

  —Matthew Dippel, Amazon Reader

  “An amazing and unique universe filled with non-stop action, vibrant characters, and a sprinkle of humor make this sci-fi series a must-read.”

  —Patrick R. Buchanan, Amazon Reader

  “Expertly plotted and deftly paced. You won’t want to put it down.”

  —Kim Husband, Proofreader, Red Adept Editing

  “Christopher Hopper’s writing has such heart, such high-stakes action, and such mind-bending creativity that he will quickly become one of your auto-buy authors.”

  —Wayne Thomas Batson, bestselling author of The Door Within

  Copyright

  Ruins of the Galaxy

  Book Book: Honor Bound

  Written by Christopher Hopper

  Copyright © 2019

  Hopper Creative Group, LLC

  All rights reserved | Version 1.0

  This is a work of fiction. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior written permission of the publisher and copyright owner.

  Edited by Sarah Carleton

  Proofread by Kim Husband

  Cover Art by Matt Flint

  Cover and Interior Design by Christopher Hopper

  Author photo by Sarah Bridgeman

  Dedication

  To my faithful readers for following me

  through the quantum tunnel.

  Chapter 1

  Admiral Kane was surprised at how well the Bull Wraith’s captain handled being flushed from an airlock. Captain Pace stood at ease, hands behind her back, chin up, as Kane went through the list of her failures. Failure to confine the prisoners to their ship. Failure to prevent the prisoners from escaping. Failure to track the prisoners. Failure to recapture the prisoners. It was too much for Kane to overlook, as much as he hated to punish an otherwise worthy officer.

  But if you don’t, Kane, you’ll be just as guilty as them, the familiar voice said. Inconsistent, soft, weak. Those kinds of failings were why the Republic was crumbling, a shadow of its former self. He knew the voice was right.

  Immediately upon returning from the metaverse and the odd events that had transpired there, Kane had learned of Captain Pace’s actions to capture Senator Stone and his family. It seemed that the captain had also taken on board a small contingent of Marines and navy personnel who, no doubt, assisted the Stones in killing several troopers and fleeing the Bull Wraith in the escape pods. Kane’s instructions not to harm the senator’s family had been explicit. Still, the captain had ordered her Marines to open fire on the escapees. At least she hadn’t targeted the escape pods, though Kane assumed that was more a stroke of coding luck than any wise decision on Captain Pace’s part.

  Still, even if the senator’s family had survived the descent to Oorajee, the planet’s inhabitants would have seen to their demise by now. Kane felt a strange taste in his mouth as he thought of his past dealings with the hyena-like beasts. “Savages,” he noted to himself as he stared at Captain Pace behind the airlock glass.

  Like you.

  “Not like me,” Kane replied. “I am not ruthless.”

&nbsp
; “But, sir,” Captain Pace protested. “I have served you faithfully for fifteen years without failure. If you would only—”

  “I am not ruthless!”

  The voice in his head laughed at that. He would have argued with it, but the voice was always right. It was cunning. It even had a name now, but Kane dared not say it.

  Kane’s rage boiled over as he thought of the Jujari slaying his daughter and devouring her flesh. More pain gripped his chest as he imagined what they would do to the granddaughter he’d never met.

  Then Kane wondered what she would think of all this.

  Why does that matter?

  “Because she’s the reason.”

  “She, Admiral?” Pace did nothing to hide the confusion on her face. “The reason for what? Are you speaking about me, sir?”

  “She’s the one who forced this to happen.”

  She is?

  “Yes,” Kane hissed. “If she had stayed with me, if she had resisted the Republic with me, none of this would be happening.”

  But I thought we went over this, Kane. You told me that you chose.

  “I did choose. I chose to move forward when she could not.”

  Then what she thinks about their deaths does not matter, does it?

  Kane thought for a moment, licking his lips. He looked out at Captain Pace. The woman looked so resolute—so confident—as she met her end.

  “Admiral Kane, if you are not ruthless, then you are at least mad.”

  That’s exactly what she said about you, too, isn’t it? Ignore her.

  “And I… I have nothing left to say, sir.” Pace straightened her uniform and raised her chin.

  Precisely how she will look in the end. When she defies you unto death.

  “Perhaps.” Kane looked down. “No, I… I can’t do it.” He gripped his head. The stabs of pain between his temples were coming more frequently. “I can’t.” He looked back up. In place of Captain Pace’s face was another face—her face. “I won’t.”

  Then I will.

  His fist swung up and pounded the blinking “Open” button beside the airlock’s frame. Captain Pace screamed as her body was yanked into the void, but no one heard her.

  • • •

  “I don’t care about his infernal dark arts,” Admiral Kane roared at the man in the holo-vid. He sat alone in his quarters, lights dimmed, his teeth bared, fists clenched on his desk.

  “Perhaps you should,” the man said. “Never underestimate your enemy, Kane.”

  Kane had grown tired of the implicit insults and blatant condescension. This senator—who was he, anyway? He wasn’t much older than Kane. He’d never seen combat, never led men and women into battle, never escorted them to the gates of hades and left them to rot.

  Not like you have, Kane, the voice said. His power is so shallow. So political. Yours, however, is real power, the power to hold someone’s life over the edge of eternity—something he’s never known aside from ordering back-door executions. Why do you still tolerate him?

  “I don’t know,” Kane replied.

  “Don’t know? You should have ended him while you had the chance, Admiral. You’re getting sloppy.”

  “Terminating the Luma emissary was of greater importance,” Kane replied, still seething. He wanted to strangle the senator and watch his eyes bulge beneath his manicured gray hair. The picture of doing it gave him a strange satisfaction. “She obviously knew the location of the quantum tunnel, as did her crew. We couldn’t allow them to live.”

  “Be that as it may, you must now dispose of the Luma master. Since you don’t know what’s in the book he took from the temple, he’s a liability. If you hadn’t been busy tying up irrelevant loose ends, we wouldn’t even be having this conversation right now.”

  Are you going to let him order you around like this? When are you going to put a stop to it?

  “When the time is right,” Kane muttered.

  “What was that?”

  He is, after all, a part of the system that stole them from you—that stole all of it from you—isn’t he?

  Kane’s eyes snapped back to the senator. “I said, I will strike when the time is right, Senator.”

  The gray-haired man sat back and stroked his chin, considering Kane. “You forget your place, Admiral. You belong to us. Everything you have is because of us—because of me.”

  “Everything you have”? Kane, you cannot let him demean all of your work, all of your sacrifice. You belong to no one. Let me talk to him. I will make things right.

  “No, no,” Kane said with a wave of his hand.

  “What was that?” The man leaned forward, his face filling the holo-vid.

  “I mean, no, you’re right. I forget my place.”

  Do not betray yourself, Kane!

  “Very well. Consider yourself reminded.” The senator relaxed a little. “I want So-Elku dead and the book he took recovered.” The senator tented his fingers and sat back. “Now, what else have you brought us from beyond the void?”

  Kane cleared his throat as the other voice tried to punch through his will. Don’t tell him, Kane! Don’t you dare.

  “I found no ships worth salvaging.”

  “No ships,” the senator repeated, unimpressed.

  “Our scans indicated thousands of vessels docked throughout the city, but all of them were in severe disrepair.”

  “Disrepair? Did, did, did you at least explore them?” the senator stammered. “Did you—did you glean from their technology as discussed?”

  You see how he second-guesses you at every point? He doesn’t trust you—he doesn’t want what’s best for you. Let me speak, Kane. Please let me speak.

  “No!” Kane said far more forcefully than he intended to. “I mean, yes, we explored them. But what we found was…”

  “Yes? What did you find, Kane? Get on with it already.”

  Don’t say anything, Kane.

  “It was old. So old.” He could feel himself trail off into the memories of that other world lost to time. “Consumed by the jungle and swallowed by age.”

  The senator waited for more. He stroked his chin again. “And?”

  Kane’s eyes snapped back up. “We were thorough, but there was simply nothing to obtain. It’s not what we had hoped for.”

  “‘Not what we had hoped for’? I see.” The senator picked up a data pad and flicked through a few screens. “You couldn’t have explored for very long, then. The log says here that you were only gone for… this can’t be right.” He glared at Kane. “Less than four hours?”

  Don’t you say a word, Kane. He doesn’t need to know—doesn’t deserve to know. Lie.

  “That’s incorrect, Senator. That should read less than four days.”

  “You’re saying the navigation computers are wrong?”

  “I’m saying I need to have a talk with my XO. It will be taken care of.”

  “Human error, then,” the senator stated, unconvinced. “We have redundancy for this sort of thing. Why are you leaving AI calculations to humans?”

  “It will be taken care of.”

  “Even still, three and a half days, Kane? We press the Jujari into a corner, spend countless lives, years, and resources to do so, and all you give me is four days?”

  I told you he doesn’t trust you! Why do you put up with this?

  “It’s just a matter of time,” Kane said.

  “I don't follow,” the senator replied.

  “Time. However long ago—thousands of years maybe?—the Jujari received that stardrive, and the civilization withered to nothing. It would be like searching the ruins of Goroboro for blaster technology. It’s just not there to be found anymore.”

  “I don’t believe you,” the senator said.

  He confesses! You see? Let me put him in his place, Kane. Just once.

  “I will forward you the data files we captured,” Kane said.

  “That’s not enough. I want you to go back.”

  “Back?”

  “Yes. Now
. Leave So-Elku to me. You cannot come back empty-handed like this.”

  “But, Senator—”

  “There are no buts, Admiral. I order you—”

  “The quantum tunnel is closed,” Kane said.

  The senator’s face froze. It was several moments before he even blinked. “What did you say?”

  “When we returned from the metaverse, the tunnel was nowhere to be found.”

  “Impossible.”

  “There were no guarantees that it was going—”

  “That’s impossible,” the senator said, raising his voice and leaning into the screen.

  “I’m only reporting what happened.”

  “Like reporting your missing three-and-a-half days?”

  “I will forward the sensor scans, sir,” Kane said. “It’s gone. There’s no going back.”

  The senator wiped his face with a hand and sat all the way back. Kane heard the chair’s leather squeak beneath the man.

  Very good, Kane. Very, very good.

  “I will take care of So-Elku,” Kane said. “Then we move forward with our plans without the Novia tech. We have enough without it.”

  “Do we?”

  “Yes, sir. We do.”

  “I’m not so sure anymore,” the senator said, his voice lowered. “Await my orders, Kane. I must confer with the others on this. You are clearly unstable.”

  The fool. This is why he can never be a part of the future. He lacks imagination. Let the dead awaken, Kane. And let the living go down to die. It’s time to set things right. It’s time that you release me.

  “As you wish,” Kane said, looking at his clenched fists. “As you wish.” He opened his hands.

  • • •

  The admiral stood in his quarters, pacing with short steps and quick turns. He caught glimpses of his bald head and puckered flesh in the mirror. Then he stopped, staring at his eyes. His pink eye grew dark like the other. Then both began to enlarge until new black irises pushed the white sclera to the edges.

  The space felt cramped. He never understood why the most important person on a ship this size was relegated to such a small room. He would need to change that. He would need to change a lot of things.

  The air felt stale, and his head ached. There was a growing throb in his forehead, and his nose felt dry. He needed to get out. Kane waved the doors open, stepped into the corridor, and turned toward the main elevator at the end of the hall. His boots clipped along the glossy black floors as he pulled his uniform taut.