Akira (Heroes of the League Book 6) Read online

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  COPYRIGHT

  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

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Akira

  Heroes of the League Book 6

  By Frank Carey

  COPYRIGHT

  Copyright © 2017 by Frank Carey

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  This story appeared previously in The League Foundation Trilogy 2.

  League Tale #6

  CHAPTER ONE

  The derelict sat in space with only the stars as companions. The Hisakawa Maru quietly slid up to the wreck and attached at one of the undamaged docking ports. With efficiency born of necessity, the crew swarmed aboard and quickly sealed off the undamaged sections. Once the hulk was air-tight, the captain and first mate went to the bridge to secure the log before the crew went about removing every piece of salvageable equipment they could find. Having returned to the ship, Capt. Hisakawa and his bridge crew monitored the work from the Maru's control room while watching for pirates and League Space Command patrol ships.

  “Akira,” Haruki, his older brother called from the hallway inside the wreck, “Come, play with us.” As Akira watched, Haruki, and their older sister, Katana, ran down the dark corridor even though father forbid it. Desperate for acceptance by his two older siblings, Akira gave chase.

  Down the deserted hallway, he ran until he heard laughter from a dark doorway. Without hesitation, he ran into the empty room only to hear the laughter of his siblings as they slammed and locked the door behind him. Try as he might, he could not budge the old hatch. After several minutes of calling and pounding, Akira gave up and sat down on the cold deck to ponder his predicament. He imagined his ship, his home, leaving without him. His family forgetting that he even existed, and his brother and sister finally getting rid of “the little pest” as Haruki referred to him so often. He sat there for what felt like hours, waiting for what, he did not know. He looked around his new home and from a corner, he saw a glow, as if the very darkness was coming to life. As he watched, a pair of red eyes materialized at least eight feet off the ground. They were followed by a large head with horns and a glowing blue face. Soon, the rest appeared, it was an oni, an ogre of ancient legend. It stared at him with a fierce look of hunger, but just as it was about to devour him, the hatch swung open and his mother ran in and gathered him up in her arms, the light from her hand torch scaring the beast off. Out in the hallway, he saw his brother and sister facing the wrath of his very angry father as his mother whisked him away to the safety of his home. As he crossed the threshold into the Maru's airlock, he caught a final glimpse of the oni, as if it was saying, “Next time, little one. Next time.”

  ###

  The party was in full swing when Akira arrived. Family members from Earth were gathered in the vast house celebrating Haruki and Katana's posting to the League Warships Lakuta and Prosperity as Captain and First Officer respectively. Their father's pride in them knew no bounds.

  Akira, though, was another matter. Instead of following his siblings into the service, he chose to join the Merchant Space Navy and earn his First Officer and Captain Licenses. Fresh out of apprenticeship aboard the League Transport Vessel Star Witch, he was now looking for a position, but with little luck.

  Everyone went silent when he entered the room, but he didn't care. He planned to walk in and congratulate the two wunderkind before leaving. He had no desire to meet his father. The two of them never had much of a relationship, and it had become even more strained since the death of Akira's mother two years ago.

  Akira walked up to Haruki and Katana and came to a stop, saying nothing as he waited for his siblings to acknowledge his existence. His whole family was displeased with his decision to forgo military service to pursue a career in the Merchant Space Navy. Since retiring, his parents were determined to find honor through the military careers of their children. Akira had decided long ago to follow a different path, a path which drove a wedge between him and the rest of his family. He stood there for a moment, rethinking his decision to come when Katana turned and saw him, startled as if she was seeing a ghost. She reached over and pulled Haruki's sleeve, causing him to turn and gape as well.

  “Haruki-sama, Katana-sama, I wanted to congratulate the two of you in person,” Akira said as he bowed deeply before them. “This is a great honor for both you and the family, an honor you both earned many times over,” he said with another deep bow while the two just stood there and listened in shock. He looked around and saw the others staring as well, all that is except his father, who stood there, frowning.

  “Father,” Akira said, with another deep bow.

  “Akira,” his father replied, returning the bow, which surprised Akira. His father had refused to speak to him or even acknowledge his existence since he announced his decision to follow a non-military career path. The elder Hisakawa walked over to his youngest son and handed him a slip of paper. “You do your brother and sister honor,” he said as he walked away into the crowd. Akira looked at the piece of paper. It had written on it: “Fiona O'Hara, Berth 29A, 2000 hours.” Akira looked at his wrist chrono and saw it was 1945 hours. He realized his father had arranged a job interview, somehow knowing Akira would show up. How the hell does he do that? Akira thought as he bowed again to his siblings before quickly leaving the party.

  Akira made it to Berth 29A with five minutes to spare. He straightened his jacket and slicked back his hair before presenting himself to the crewman manning the gangway. “Permission to come aboard. My name is Akira Hisakawa. I have a 2000 hours appointment with Ms. Fiona O'Hara,” he said handing the slip of paper his father gave him to the crewman.

  “Wait one,” the crewman said before keying the microphone on his shoulder. “This is Norris. I've got the captain's interview down here.”

  “Send him up,” someone said.

  “Permission granted,” Norris said while hooking his thumb in the direction of the ship.

  Akira walked up the ramp and through the hatch into the ship. Once inside, he looked around. For the most part, he was impressed, though he did notice several missteps by the crew. Things out of place, lights out, a faint hint of ozone which indicated one or more electrical shorts. He walked forward and back, then side to side to t
est the gravity plates and noticed a small deviation during the side-to-side test. Not bad, but I could do better, he thought to himself.

  “Report, mister!” someone barked from behind him. He spun around and went to attention when he saw an officer with captain's stripes on her shoulders. He spit out every observation, every flaw, and every misstep, all from the training he received from his previous captain, who was a stickler for protocol. Akira prayed this captain was cut from the same cloth.

  “Cutter?” she barked at the woman standing next to her and wearing Second Officer stripes.

  “Fifteen, Ma’am. Ma'am, we only staged fourteen.”

  “And number fifteen?”

  “It's real, Ma’am. We missed it.”

  “Really?” she said as she walked around Akira. “Mister, you got a problem working for a woman?”

  “No, Captain.”

  “You got a problem working the edge of the law?”

  “Only if it puts the crew in danger, Ma’am.”

  “Family?”

  “None that want to invite me to dinner, Captain.”

  “Belongings?”

  “Only those in my pack, Captain.”

  “Cutter, show our XO to his bunk and get him situated. I want him fully familiarized with the Hippolyta by the time we leave station. Mr. Hisakawa, welcome aboard.”

  “Thank you, Ma’am,” he said as he snapped a salute.

  She smiled while returning it. “Outstanding,” she said as she walked to the front of the ship.

  Akira went to parade rest before looking at Cutter and saying, “Wow.”

  “Tell me about it,” Cutter said. “Follow me.” She led Akira to a small cabin near the Engine Room. It had “Hisakawa, XO” stenciled on it.

  Cutter smiled and opened the door to Akira's new home.

  ###

  Sister Hestia stood on the balcony and looked out over Amazonia, the capital city of the Olympian Republic. Below her, the politicians moved about like ants around their hill.

  “Sister, they're here,” her neophyte assistant announced while bowing near the door.

  “Send them in and prepare tea,” Hestia said as she walked into the room.

  “Yes, Sister,” the young woman said as she left the room while still bowing.

  Hestia watched as two women entered the room, one wearing Republic Space Navy coveralls, the other the robes of a sister. Behind them, the neophyte entered with a tea set. She served the others, then quickly left.

  “Ladies, today is the day. Your mission is confirmed. Understand, the fate of the very souls of the Olympian race is in your hands. You cannot fail.”

  “Failure is not an option, mistress,” the uniformed one said.

  Hestia looked at her and grimaced, “You do realize we are talking about destroying a planet and killing over seven billion souls.”

  “I have been briefed, mistress. The details do not concern me, only the final results,” the other said without remorse or guilt.

  Hestia turned to the other woman, the one who had remained silent.

  “And you. Are you prepared to sacrifice the lives of the ones you call sister?”

  “Yes, mistress, for our cause is just.”

  “Very well, then. Initiate the plan. Go now, and I will see you in the afterlife.”

  The two turned and left the room while Hestia walked back to the balcony to watch those below.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Sirens sounded and red strobes flashed as the Naval Shipyard went to full battle readiness. Warships of all sizes broke free of their moorings and proceeded to their assigned stations as they formed a protective phalanx around the immense yard, prepared for the worst. Conspicuous in its absence was the prototype of the newest, largest, and deadliest member of the fleet--the Annihilator.

  “Report!” Adm. Athena Galactus yelled over the din of klaxons, “And kill those damn alarms!” She walked across the control room to the holotable and saw the fleet at full readiness.

  “Ma'am!” Capt. Freya Heranna said as she strode up to the table with tablet in hand. “At zero-four hundred, Annihilator broke her moorings and headed out of the yard with only the pilot on board.”

  “No crew? Is that possible?”

  “It seems so, Admiral. She maneuvered around several large warships before taking a heading out of the system.”

  The admiral looked at the master chronometer and saw the time--zero-four-thirty hours. “Heading?”

  “One-one-eight degrees by 27 degrees positive, maximum starspeed.”

  “Annihilator's current load status?”

  “She's fully armed and fueled, Ma’am.”

  “Blast and damn!” the admiral cursed. “Tactical display with a course projection for the Annihilator,” she said as she took a gulp of tea.

  A map of the sector appeared showing the Olympian Empire, neighboring star systems and the course of the Annihilator. “Why the Hades is it heading on that course? There's nothing out there,” the admiral said as she squinted at the projection.

  “Not quite,” someone said from near the control room's entryway. Everyone in the room stopped and looked at the wizened woman who entered flanked by four extremely muscular guards in ceremonial armor.

  “Priestess Hera Argyris, how nice to see you,” the admiral said not meaning a single word. The feud between the two women had taken on a legendary status over the decades. “We're a little busy right now so if you could come back later...”

  “Your warship is on a heading which will take it to a yellow main sequence star about one hundred light years from here. Its third planet is known to the locals as Earth.”

  “Never heard of it,” Athena said.

  “Very few have. A science probe went off course last year and disappeared. Science Division thought it was long gone until a few days ago when the probe began transmitting again, only it wasn't in deep space.”

  “Where was it?”

  “Orbiting a planet populated by billions of humans, half of which are male. That is where Annihilator is heading fully armed and fueled for battle.”

  The admiral looked at the display one more time before deciding on a course of action. “Capt. Freya, how many ships can you launch in the next fifteen minutes?”

  “Three, Ma’am. Artemis, Diana, and Aphrodite are at ready status waiting crew recall.”

  “Three warships against a behemoth almost three miles long and a mile wide. Captain, you and Artemis will lead Diana and Aphrodite against Annihilator. Your mission is to stop it or at least slow it down before it reaches Earth. You have a slight speed advantage which means you can intercept before it reaches Earth space.”

  “Aye, aye, Admiral,” she said as activated her communicator and headed to her ship.

  “Dockmaster!” the admiral said as she scanned the displays around her.

  “Yes, Admiral!” the dockmaster said as she ran up to stand next to Athena.

  “I want the lanes cleared for immediate launch of Artemis, Diana, and Aphrodite. They are to be given a high-vee vector out of the yards!”

  “Yes, Ma’am!”

  “I also want every warship we have provisioned and ready for launch. How long?”

  “Ma'am, four hours assuming we can get the crews to help load.”

  “Four hours it is. Grab whoever you need and start loading.”

  “Yes, Ma’am!”

  After the dockmaster left, Athena looked around the room and saw her people working to get the three ships out and the rest of the fleet prepped for departure. Seeing no one in need of her assistance, she turned to the priestess. “Hera Argyris, I've known you all my life and I know when you're holding something back. What part of this story about a human-filled planet are you keeping from me?”

  Hera sighed and put her tea down. “When the sisterhood got wind of the find we stopped any further dissemination while we dug through the master database. We found the log of the Olympus, the ship which brought us here. It seems they had a lengthy layover on E
arth before coming to this planet.”

  “What? That's insane. The official history mentions nothing about a stop anywhere on the journey.”

  “That's because the colonists purged it from all records. The log we found was part of the captain's personal effects which he had sealed under royal edict.”

  “Then how did you get a hold of it?”

  “I broke the seal. Being religious head of a world does have its perks.”

  Intrigued, Athena leaned over and whispered, “So, what happened?”

  “According to the log, the Olympus was passing near a solar system when they developed engine trouble, so they landed on the third planet to perform repairs.”

  “Hmmm, three thousand years ago I would assume there were locals.”

  “Yep. They are well detailed in the log.”

  “Primitive?”

  “Yep.”

  “We left them alone while repairs were made, right?”

  “Sadly, no. The crew and passengers decided to deify themselves and stay for a few hundred years.”

  Athena threw a stylus across the room and cursed, “Those idiots. Their actions go against everything we've been taught. Wait a minute, why did we leave?”

  “Now, that's the interesting part of the story,” Hera said as she poured fresh tea for the two of them.

  ###

  Ancient Earth about three thousand years ago...

  Lightning flashes illuminated the council chambers as the storm raged outside. A large circular table sat at the center of the room. Hand-carved by local artisans, the table served double-duty as furniture and camouflage for an advanced holographic display. Around it stood several Olympians who were closely studying data streaming in from one of their sentry satellites patrolling within the asteroid field, sunward of the orbit of Mars.

  “Dammit, why now? We finally get the locals to stop throwing dead cattle and sheep up here and this happens,” Apolonia said, half-joking as she watched the three-dimensional image of a very large rock slowly spin above the table.

  “I am really getting sick of your insolence, daughter,” Capt. Patras said to Apolonia as he paced around the table. He looked up at the head of the generation ship's Science Department. “Jonas, how long do we have?”