Gunship: Glimmeria

Glimmeria

Gunship, Book Two

This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical people, events or places are used fictitiously. Any other names, places, events or characters are products of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual places, events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2017 John Michael Davis

Editing by: Daniél Lecoq

All rights reserved, including the right to copy this book or portions of this book in any form. For more information, please email [email protected].

If you are an author in search of quality professional editing, please email [email protected] and should you encounter any errors during this reading experience, feel free to email us so that we may correct them and improve this work.

Manufactured in the United States of America

Also by John Macallen Davis:

Gunship Series

Gunship - Kindle - Nook

Glimmeria - Kindle - Nook

Reflections - Kindle - Nook

Gears and Spears - Kindle - Nook

Legendary - Kindle - Nook

Space Rebels - Kindle - Nook

Bone Harvest - Kindle - Nook

Ghost Planet - Kindle - Nook

Skyfall - Kindle - Nook

Wicked Series

Wicked – Kindle - Paperback

The Journal of Emma Wilson - Kindle

Lurker (Coming Soon)

Fleet Series

The Fleet - Kindle - Nook

The Blood War - Kindle - Nook

Chaotic Worlds - Kindle - Nook

The Afterworlds - Kindle - Nook

The Run - Kindle - Nook

The Great War - Kindle - Nook

Vampire Hunters - Kindle - Nook

Return of the Fear - Kindle - Nook

The Colony - Kindle - Nook

Graveyard - Kindle - Nook

Singles

Hammer of War

Atlantis

The Colony

EMMA

Brookhaven

American Superhero

Catch me online:

johndavisbooks.wordpress.com

All war is deception.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

About the Author

Chapter 1

The wind blew steadily as Roman stood there, looking at the forest around him.

It was a surreal sight. The sky above was filled slow-moving clouds and he admired them for a moment, before kneeling to rub his hand in the dirt of the riverbed. Small rocks slipped through his fingers and fell from his battle hardened grasp. It reminded him of being a child. Playing in the river near his home had always been Roman's favorite childhood memory.

It had been a long time since his eyes had last seen peace. Every second that he stood there, hypnotized by the perfected body of water, he made use of his senses, pulling every small detail into reality. From the birds singing in their melodic language overhead to the sound of the small waves crashing against the front of his boots on the shore, everything seemed so perfect...too perfect, and the soldier inside of him began to panic.

There was an odd movement to his left, enough so that Roman turned his head to investigate. Even through the fog, he could see a decent-sized riverboat – he'd not seen one in many years. There were dozens of shadowy figures gathered together on its deck. Roman's first reaction was to reach for his combat blade, he was well-trained in the art of war. He realized quickly, however, that he was unarmed.

Where was his blade?

It was unlike him, but that feeling soon dissipated as Roman began to recognize the faces on the boat as it docked with the river bank in front of him. Some of the faces were fallen warriors who'd passed away beside him during one of many conflicts throughout the years, while others were familiar faces of family and close friends, long deceased.

What kind of madness was this? A multitude of things began to run through his mind as he cautiously watched a man step off of the boat, his boots digging firmly into the water-drenched sand. Slowly this shadowy figure with no real distinguishable features approached Roman. The commando began calculating self-defense tactics in his mind, just in case. But there was no time.

They are waiting for you, Roman. the eerie man said.

Having decided he'd seen enough, Roman began to slowly back away before turning to quicken his pace into the direction of a heavily-wooded area nearby.

IT'S YOUR TIME! the ferry boat operator yelled, this time in a demonic voice. Whatever it was, it grabbed Roman by the upper portion of his arm in order to drag him into the water if that's what it took.

FUCK YOU! Roman yelled.

The perfect world of sweet greens and cotton-white clouds soon blended with bright white lights as Roman tried to make sense of things; the birds quickly transformed into sounds of advanced medical equipment as he lay on an operating table under a dozen doctors and nurses – white light blinded him from overhead.

I've got a pulse! one of the doctors yelled, as several machines chirped readouts of every vital sign in Roman's body...both the human and the mechanical side. Stay with us, Roman. You're in good hands. the voice promised.

Roman let loose a loud shriek of pain and right away, even he could hear the inner workings of both man and machine in his voice.

Several hours had passed as Adam, Sarah, Dalton, and Steiner waited patiently for some official word on their friend. Kelly and Lassiter had offered to watch over Troy, who was still recovering from his injuries at the hands of the savage husk and was trying his best to adjust to the desert planet of Glimmeria.

Lieutenant Michaels, a doctor said, entering the room. He was dressed in white (the standard) and was patched as a Colonial, with trimmings of blue and gold. Adam stood to his feet. He wore what you'd expect a space smuggler to wear, complete with a revolver hanging from his hip. Your friend should eventually make a full recovery, the doctor said, bringing immediate celebration among the crew who sat behind Adam. We lost him for a couple of minutes, but he came back to us on his own. He is one tough man. It will take some time for him to get used to the idea of being half mechanical, of course, but I hope he eventually understands that without the Goliath parts, he wouldn't be alive. the doctor added.

Thank you. Adam said, shaking the doctor's hand and turning to his crew.

This calls for a damn celebration! Dalton said.

Glimmeria may have been a desolate place for the most part, but the Colonial forces had sat down in and around Kamira, which was the planet's largest city. Dalton translated that into having drinking locations nearby, and now that he knew Roman was going to pull through, it was all about keeping his self-proclaimed reputation intact.

I'm going to stay here, sit with Roman and try to get Troy settled in with a local family. Adam said.

There were tens of thousands of children displaced by war. Most (Troy among them) would never see their parents again – left to either fend for themselves or with any luck, find a family that was willing to take them in. Adam would see to it that Troy found one such family.

I'm game. Steiner said, volunteering to go with Dalton, if for no other reason than to keep the mouthy drunkard out of harm's way.

Just keep your asses out of trouble, understand? Adam asked. Sarah slowly placed her arm around his lower back in order to hold him with affection, while listening to him set the ground rules for his crew.

Yes, sir! Dalton said sarcastically. Meanwhile, the thought of playing hide and go seek with full bottles of whiskey danced around in his head.

Having caught up to one of the Colonial Star ships in a narrow escape was the biggest factor in saving Roman's life. Adam's gunship had come through once more.

Dalton and Steiner left the Colonial hospital and made their way onto the sun scorched streets of Glimmeria's largest city. Kamira may have been a city, to begin with, but it was predominately a military base now. The outskirts of the city were protected by huge underground mack guns, which were nearly two-hundred yards in diameter and could fire bursts of lead from the planet's surface into space, punching holes through the largest of ships.

They were protected by razor turrets, a clever term for huge steel towers manned by two soldiers. The towers were equipped with a single rail gun that could fire up to twelve rounder per minute, each with devastating effect.

The new Goliath 2.0 soldiers patrolled the city streets, having replaced the original units in favor of much thicker armor plating as well as the addition of carrying surface to air missiles. Last but not least, the Colonial Marines. They weren't as feared as the larger Goliath units but in force, they were still the backbone of the Colonial war effort.

Glimmeria had become the last real Colonial stronghold. The Legion was coming for sure – that much was inevitable. When they arrived, they'd find a Colonial stronghold that would not fall easily.

With everyone in Adam's crew having officially joined the Colonial ranks, each had sworn the allegiance and agreed to wear the uniform. Of course, that didn't stop Dalton from covering his own uniform with the brown duster that he had become so used to wearing.

As much as the rest of the crew dreaded the mere sight of that ragged leather duster, it was his security blanket, especially when preparing to hammer back as many drinks as he possibly could. In many ways, that stretch of dark-tanned cowhide had become the Gunship's own flag.

Where's the closest pub? Steiner asked as they stood in the street. The suns rays tortured them all the while. It was an extreme, dry heat.

Two Swordfish fighter jets quickly blew by overhead, drowning out Dalton's response. They were the design of the Glimmarian military; the extra-long nose of the ship, as well as its unique ability to hug the ground within a few feet during flight, made them virtually undetectable on radar.

I dunno, but you let me catch up to those pilots when we get there. I'm gonna jerk a knot in somebody's ass. Dalton said as his large friend laughed.

**

I think we can all agree that the Colonials should not be in power. Anwick said.

He sat at a very large wooden table that had been given plenty of shine. Anwick's teeth were filed to a razor sharp point; the dead white pupils of his eyes fixated themselves on