Raven (Final Colony 2.5)

By Angelo Tsanatelis

Major Aaron Willis and his SF squad land on the remote moon R543, a privately owned world operated by the Kelen & Son industries, to investigate some serious charges of corporate corruption. What awaits them there is an enemy more sinister and dangerous than even the famous ‘Raven’ could ever have anticipated.

As dark secrets and past mistakes start to surface Aaron and his soldiers face a battle for their very survival light years away from Earth. Under these extreme circumstances most men will buckle under the pressure or simply fail to realize their objectives. But decorated war hero Milos Yankovich will see this mission as his only lifeline; a crude way to escape from the demons living inside his head and a civilian life that never really agreed with him.

This is the fourth volume in the Final Colony series.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Angelo Tsanatelis
• Release date: Sep 6, 2012
• ISBN: 9781476232430

Angelo Tsanatelis

Angelo (Aggelos) Tsanatelis was born in Athens, Greece on October 24th 1979. He lived for seven years in Bulgaria, where he studied Law at the University of Sofia. During his studies he traveled in Europe and Africa, undertaking 'daring expeditions that no one ever heard about, visited mysterious locations or simply searched for hidden treasures in the most unlikely of places' as he quoted himself in a interview in 2012. After he finished his studies he worked in the private sector for several years before he realized his childhood dream and became an author. His first novel already many years in the making was Origins, the 1st episode in the Living Sword Chronicles series and it was published in April of 2011. It was followed by the novelette, the Rootless set in the same universe and the sequel to Origins, the Lodge & the Tribe.

Book preview

RAVEN

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RAVEN

(Final Colony 2.5)

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By Angelo Tsanatelis

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Published by Saphire Realms at Smashwords

Copyright ©2012 Angelo Tsanatelis, All right reserved.

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

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No part of this ebook may be stored, reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without express written permission of the author

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This ebook is a work of fiction. Though some towns, cities, locations and historical persons may be mentioned, they are used in a fictitious manner and the events and occurrences are the product of my imagination or my own interpretation of a historical figure and should not be considered a faithful likeness.

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Version 1.5

More books from Angelo Tsanatelis

In the same universe

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FINAL COLONY

ASHOS ELEVEN - DAY ONE

DIRECTIVE 3.1

CONTACT

RAVEN

CITIZEN ONE

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The Living Sword Chronicles Book I:

Origins -

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/52770

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More books from Angelo Tsanatelis & Saphire Realms

The Living Sword Chronicles Book II:

The Lodge & the Tribe -

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/87992

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Discover other titles by Angelo Tsanatelis at Smashwords.com:

Songs of Sorrow- http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/53039

Songs of Loss- http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/53037

The Dark Notes Book I- http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/66489

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& also by Angelo Tsanatelis

Published by Saphire Realms

The Rootless- http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/56295

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Dark Hunter series

The Ghost of the Cazador- http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/96907

The Shadow & the Blood Assassin

Legends

Dark Hunters Omnibus

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DEDICATIONS

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To all those dreaming of building a different new world.

Fellas please don’t fuck it up for the rest of us.

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Contents

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Badges of Honor

70 light-years

The starless sky

Fritz One

Slanted eyes

Blackout

Six hundred minutes

Prisoner 3-25-7-14

Wonderful things

The Realm outside our grasp

Executive decision

Epilogue?

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Because Nature… has its flaws’

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Kelen & Son Industries slogan

Late 22nd Century

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‘Kelen & Son Industries are a stout supporter of EA policies and treaties. There is absolutely no truth, no base to the rumors that had again spread in the Colonial and Home Media in relation to planets D2713 and the R543 moon. We are a Terran Corporation, with one hundred and twenty three million Terran employees and we’ve never used, actually allow me to repeat that, we’ve never used aliens of any kind, either as test subjects or any other type of exploitation. Let us state it one more time for good measure; no aliens… and of course no humans, have ever being used in our research programs anywhere - or at anytime. There is no secret K&S laboratory on R543 or any other place engaging in otherworldly experiments, period.

Having stated that let me remind you all; this is still a war, treaties or not, alike no other war our great species had ever become involved in. We must all do whatever is necessary to prevail, above profits & long term macroeconomics, above sentimentalities. Ladies and gentlemen of the press, enhanced or otherwise, the great corporation I have the honor to serve for more than forty years, purely out of my love for scientific innovations and the reaching for new unexplored frontiers in all fields, is above anything else a non discriminative lawful organization; but if it comes down to us or the Cygns then you all know where our loyalties recline. There are only three things I love above myself in this life; the Earth Alliance, my lovely enhanced wife and Kelen & Son Industries.’

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Declan Fillion, CEO of K&S Industries

Recorded on 23rd of December 2219 before a packed Gagarin centre at New Vegas, Mars, two months before the Cygn forces in a surprise attack invaded point 71 to start the 2nd Earth-Cygn war.

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MANT-520 /39 Log entry 066

D/129 01:00.11

MT/ 2855:41.21

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Loading from memory

Opening classified file 58794568/A11

Crosschecking with relative data

Possible connection detected

Loading…

EA Admiralty Archives

Subcategory:

Special Forces Legion XIII

-Major Aaron ‘Raven’ Willis mission records

File/213C

Operation ‘Cerberus offspring’

D/ May 22 2187

Playing…

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Aboard the EASHB ‘W.T. Martin’ 6.5 ly from NGC 6992 (East Veil Nebula), Cygnus Constellation (Point 122)

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Lieutenant Commander Willis, please be seated. Admiral Zirkov offered nodding with his head towards a comfy chair in front of his rather grand desk. Aaron sat his arse down cleared his throat and voiced his first objection right away.

I prefer Major, Admiral Sir.

The admiral forced a smile on his face.

You understand that space is like the sea Major,’ he started glancing out the big viewport of his personal cabin, to the vast void that surrounded them ‘so typically you are serving in the Navy now.’ He paused breathing deeply, his right hand hefting what probably was a large whiskey, as if he was unsure whether he wanted to drink from it or throw it away, ‘but I can understand why a man of land action such as yourself finds it more to his liking to keep the old ranks alive.

Aaron held his tongue waiting for him to say something else, but when he realized that the Admiral wasn’t going to continue he breached the other matter that troubled him.

Admiral Zirkov, you must understand that I find it very… problematic to put it mildly, to work with a corpsuit again after what happened on D2713.

You will not work with a ‘corpsuit’ Major, Serena is one of the main shareholders…’ Admiral Zirkov paused seeming annoyed, ‘it is urgent official business nonetheless and you do get to pick the rest of the team yourself.

What is the rush? I thought we had the situation on D2713 contained Admiral.

We cannot ‘contain’ a planet twice the size of Earth Major in less than three years; do not believe what you see in the Media. We have established a foothold yes, but I’m expecting them to have another go at us sooner rather than later.

Aaron stared at a large holomap of the area directly behind the Admiral.

What is taking them so long to respond sir?

The older man, the Admiral was approaching sixty-five with the speed of light, continued playing with the whiskey glass in his hand, preoccupied in his thoughts. A moment of awkward silenced ensued.

"I haven’t had a drink in twenty years,’ he finally said slowly, ‘since we started this business with the ‘eighteyes’ the thirst has returned stronger than ever. It is like a premonition of sorts, knowing it’s wrong to do something, but wanting it so very much that your insides hurt."

Major Willis cleared his throat feeling a little uncomfortable and unsure where the Admiral was going with this.

"We know their aren’t coming from Deneb or GI 777.’ Admiral Zirkov said, ‘K&S built their facilities on R543 and that takes 16 Cyg out of the equation also. We’ve located two planets in HD 203857, one of which is D2713 where we’ve met their kind for the first time, utilizing more luck than skill. The truth is Major, we don’t know where the fuck is their home planet but it seems it’s further away than we’d originally estimated."

Aaron thought about having a go at that bottle of expensive whiskey, but sensing that the Admiral might object to it, willed his mind to forget about it. A little irritated by the fact that as always the military seemed to have less intel than it originally claimed to possess, Aaron decided to probe a little more in the off chance that he’d learn something worth his while.

What if the reason for their delayed response isn’t the distance? He asked the Admiral. Could there be something that we overlooked, like a technical or religious matter?

"They’ve lost a good number of ships back in 2184 Major so it is possible that we’ve managed to cripple them considerably,’ Aaron sensed there was a ‘but’ in there somewhere ‘But,’ the admiral continued, proving him right, ‘only one of their destroyed ships could be categorized as a battleship and it had taken out the Ulysses with three hits, before going down itself. No one builds only one Major. Not when you are an imperialistic power or race."

So the reason for not coming at us is…

The admiral stared him dead in the eyes, his face had turned serious.

They are biding their time Major Willis.’ He said in a grave voice. ‘gathering intelligence, searching for weaknesses…’ an alarm started sounding inside the Battleship ‘… trust me they will come at us before this year is over. He finished and immediately rose from his chair.

I will head to the bridge, we are about to jump. He explained although Aaron didn’t need an explanation to know that their meeting was over.

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(Badges of Honor)

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D/ June 09 2187, city of Tanis at Vales Marineris, Mars.

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It was there again. The hint of a tiny whimper escaping her lips in between his penetrations. That and the sound of the cheap bed creaking every time he pulled his cock out. A corrupt symphony of sounds, the creaking and the whimpering, in and out. They whirled in his brain nonstop, creating a maddening cycle as he kept on pounding relentlessly at her moist cunt, trying to bring himself over the edge. His fingers had wrapped around her long pretty neck, eyes green, ‘but they could be blue, if that’s what you fancy’ and almost too shiny, her face that of a cherub, that is if cherubs were whores spreading their legs for fifty lousy Martian credits.

His fingers pressed more crushing her windpipes, the music in his head reaching a ruckus crescendo and a couple of seconds later his throbbing manhood erupted inside the struggling woman. He collapsed on top of her, covered in sweat, more tired than satisfied.

You’ve almost killed me. The woman said her lips close to his right nipple and with a groan he rolled off her landing with his back almost at the edge of the hotel bed.

I knew you could handle it. He replied wiping the sweat off his face along with what he hoped was drool.

It will cost you extra.

I ain’t giving you a penny more.

The woman sat on her ass on the bed, her straight blond hair covering her breasts.

Pier will know about this.

He stared at her through half-closed eyelids.

Pier doesn’t give a shit about you. You are just another fucking Beta.

My name is Tara.

Yeah right.

Tara got up from the bed and picked up her tiny dress from the floor. Damn, he thought staring at her naked figure, I should have tried that arse.

Don’t be a stranger. He managed to say before she went out the door. Sighing heavily he closed his eyes completely, realizing that the silence surrounding him was beautiful.

It lasted about three minutes.

His wristcomm unit, he’d left somewhere in the room, started buzzing and a couple of seconds later, his B/link became active in his head.

Oh, for the love of Jupiter! He exclaimed angrily switching the damn thing to busy but that elusive tranquility was gone.