Forgotten Valor

By Patricia Hamill

Continuing the story began in Shadows of Valor, Edwin is stuck back at SAC headquarters reeling from the effects of his first mission. Haunted by nightmares and recovering from a training injury, Edwin desperately seeks a solution to the horrors that blast him awake each night without fail. At the same time, war waits for no man, and the Commander assigns him a new mission, one that will take him into the heart of Veracka.

Meanwhile, Peggy is offered an ultimatum: accept enhancement or watch as Edwin is sent alone on a mission he may not survive without her. Disillusioned and suspecting her superiors intended this outcome from the beginning, Peggy must face the most difficult decision she's ever had to make. And, even if she takes the plunge, the effort may be too little, too late.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Patricia Hamill
• Release date: Nov 20, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301415335

Patricia Hamill

I like reading and writing books, crocheting, running, and practicing karate. I'm also into science (fact and fiction) and love movies and stories that feature it. Doctor Who, Star Wars, Star Trek (still playing on BBC America!), The Expanse, The Walking Dead, I love to watch all of these, though they're just some of the things I watch. Check out my blog, I read too much!, and also the blog at Puretextuality.com to which I contribute. My favorite genres in books are sci-fi, fantasy, and humorous nonsense in various forms, but I do branch out. As for what I write, I can't be pinned down to a single genre. My first book, The Golden Ship, I wrote with and for my mom. My sci-fi trilogy, Shadows of Valor, will always be my favorite because it's exactly the sort of thing I like to read: boy leaves home, discovers superpower, meets girl, saves the day. To get out of my comfort zone and to cure my tendency to hide in the other room when The Walking Dead came on, I wrote a zombie book, Fearless. It's not nearly as gory as The Walking Dead, but it's got a lot of me in it. I think it's the most emotionally gripping, grown up book I've written so far. The Freeze, my foray into pure YA-post apocalyptic was a lot of fun to write. There's a bit of danger and romance, but it doesn't get too deep. Just a fun story to tell, and hopefully fun to read as well. As such an avid reader of fantasy, it actually took me rather long to get around to trying my hand at writing one. I wrote Avalee and the Dragon with the full intent at making it a girl defeats dragon fantasy. It turned into a surprise romance for everyone involved, including me. Anyway, good stuff. All that being said, I love connecting with readers and other authors. Feel free to send me a note on Goodreads or my Facebook page.

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Forgotten Valor (Shadows of Valor #2)

Patricia Hamill

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2013 Patricia Hamill

All rights reserved.

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.

DEDICATION

To my father, Jack, who let me ride behind him on his motorcycle when I was a kid, a memory that served me well in the writing of this story. To my mother, Della, who inspired me to write and to put my work out there for others to enjoy. To my husband, Tim, who tossed ideas my way whenever he caught a glimpse of what I was scribbling. To my son, Johnathan, for reading the first few chapters of Shadows of Valor early on and telling me he couldn’t wait to read more. To Josy, who always encourages me to keep writing and publishing.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1-Training

Chapter 2-Cover Story

Chapter 3-Vigil

Chapter 4-Coercion

Chapter 5-Decision

Chapter 6-Enhancement

Chapter 7-Gravity

Chapter 8-The Price

Chapter 9-Experimentation

Chapter 10-Running Out of Time

Chapter 11-Reunion

Chapter 12-In Veracka, Mission

Chapter 13-The Palace

Chapter 14-Parting Ways

Chapter 15-Forgetting

Chapter 16-Fitting In

Chapter 17-Keeping Tabs

Chapter 18-Distraction

Chapter 19-Making Impressions

Chapter 20-Orders

Chapter 21-Graduation Day

Chapter 22-The Ceremony

Chapter 23-Audience

Chapter 24-Reflection

Chapter 25-The Regent Council

Chapter 26-Making Contact

Chapter 27-The Tree

About the Author

Chapter 1-Training

A firm knock broke Edwin's reverie just before dawn. He rose to answer, but the knock repeated before his feet hit the floor.

Frowning at the impatience of his visitor, he called out, Hold on, I'm coming!

No further knocks sounded in the short time it took Edwin to reach the door, so he reasoned that they must have heard him. Before opening the door, he peered through the security lens, but the visitor was not in sight. Probably standing to the side, Edwin guessed and opened the door.

A firm throat clearing drew his attention downward until his eyes fell upon a woman, whose head reached no higher than top of his belt buckle.

True to the tone set by her knocking, the woman seemed the embodiment of impatience. Her foot tapped and her arms crossed over her chest clutching a large clipboard tightly to her body. It was almost as big as her entire torso. Besides all that, she was chewing on something, reminding Edwin of a rabbit or mouse nibbling on a morsel.

Struggling to stifle evidence of amusement, Edwin said, Hello, how can I help you?

Before answering, she stood there for a moment longer peering up at him with sharp eyes full of intelligence, sizing him up.

You can help me by inviting me in, for starters.

Then, not waiting for the invite she requested, the tiny woman shouldered him aside and began inspecting his apartment, taking brief notes on the clipboard.

Not knowing who she was or what she expected to find in his kitchen drawers, he followed her.

Excuse me, he said, catching her attention for an instant, what are you doing?

She shook her head and rolled her eyes, I'm getting interrupted, that's what. Now, why don't you go over there and let me finish. She pointed back at the front door and then proceeded to open his cupboards, using the long clipboard to knock them open and a mirror on an extendable pole to peer inside each one. After that, she rummaged through his refrigerator, muttering, No fruit or veggies . . . typical.

From there, she toured the rest of the apartment, methodically searching it from top to bottom, even going so far as to tap along certain sections of wall, listening intently as she did so. Finally, she emerged from the bathroom, which had been her last stop, and stalked up to Edwin. Slowly, her rapid chewing came to an end and she smiled up at him.

Not bad, usually I find a few on first looks, but you seem to keep a tight ship: a good quality in our business.

A few what, Edwin thought before answering with a baffled, Thank you? He didn't bother asking her what she meant, having decided that questions were pointless with this one.

She nodded briskly, and motioned for him to follow her as she strode back into the living area and climbed into his favorite chair, which seemed to swallow her whole. He sat across the room on the couch and waited for her to speak.

Silence permeated the air before she finally spoke.

How do you like Rank Two so far?

Excuse me? Edwin said in surprise.

Shall I repeat the question?

No.

And? she prompted.

I don't know what you're talking about, Edwin dodged.

She allowed a throaty chuckle to escape her lips, Really . . . one with your talents should have been snapped up by now. I've heard some interesting things about you.

Edwin shrugged noncommittally, and then decided he'd had enough of the game. Who are you and why are you here?

Tsk, tsk, what happened to the nice boy who so kindly let me in without securing that information first?

Enough, either you answer or you leave.

Very well, I am Lieutenant Tina Bell, and I am here to give you a lesson.

Edwin felt unwelcome mirth welling in his throat at the ironic name and struggled to suppress it. The effort to control himself was not lost on Lieutenant Bell, who scowled in his direction until he managed to master his expression.

If you are quite finished, please change into the light blue uniform. I will wait here.

Not exactly trusting his visitor, Edwin stood, retrieved the blue uniform and closed himself into the bathroom. Something about the entire situation made him ill at ease, although he had to acknowledge that he'd become somewhat overly cautious since joining Rank Two. Setting the uniform on the counter, Edwin decided to look into Lieutenant Bell's visit for himself.

He closed his eyes and summoned an image of her in his mind, then allowed a small piece of his consciousness to slip away and out into the room where the woman waited. Unbidden, the finger of thought took the form of the eagle, which perched on the mantle where it could gaze down upon his visitor. Feeding more of himself into it, he felt himself become the bird.

When he sensed that he was ready, Edwin stared down at the Lieutenant and allowed her physical presence to sharpen his mental image of her, until they were nearly identical. He felt himself drawn into the vision, and flashes of color and darkness began to play across the backdrop. He saw a sunny courtyard, circular and bordered by terraced walks, similar to Special Air Corps Headquarters, but with an unobstructed view of the sky.

The image shifted as if the ground abruptly dropped away, and then everything seemed to spin into darkness. He allowed himself to fall further into the vision, and all at once he felt cool moist air rushing over his body, tasted the scent of flowers on the air and felt the dizzying sensation of somersaulting through the night, weightless and free. Flashes of light swept past, but he didn't recognize what they were, at least not until the dream Lieutenant allowed her gaze to fall.

Headquarters, Edwin murmured in the bathroom, unaware that he'd spoken. He pulled back from the vision slightly and allowed the backdrop to shift to a familiar corridor, where he watched a tiny hand reach up and open a door. Waiting behind the door was Commander Talbot, fingers steepled thoughtfully as he acknowledged his visitor with a nod and a slight smile.

Edwin had seen enough. Lieutenant Bell was obviously not a Verackan spy, as he had suspected, although some of the images still puzzled him. Slowly, he withdrew into the eagle while separating from and then dissolving the dream Lieutenant. Free of the brief connection, he summoned the dream eagle back to his physical body and drew in the consciousness he'd lent it, shivering only slightly as the feeling of fire and ice trickled up his spine. His eyes opened, and he turned his head to look at the crumpled uniform he'd tossed aside. Well, he thought to himself, I'd better change before she decides to check on me.

When he returned to the living room a few minutes later, Lieutenant Bell smiled and said, Well, are you ready?

Edwin nodded curtly, Yes, ma'am.

Good, she said and slid unceremoniously off the chair to her feet, then we can get to work.

***

After just three hours under Lieutenant Bell's rigorous instruction, Edwin was exhausted. She was tireless, impatient and incredibly fast, and she expected Edwin to keep up.

A challenging combination of physical and mental conditioning, the drills Edwin practiced under her sharp eyes were more difficult than any he'd experienced since joining the SAC. Sweat drenched his body, rolling down his back and chest under the heavy fabric of the uniform. He and his teacher were in the countryside near headquarters, running along deer trails, jumping fallen logs and forgotten fences, and sprinting along the water's edge.

The goal was simple, catch Lieutenant Bell, but the rules governing that goal were not. First, he was instructed to keep moving at all costs. Second, he was to keep track of Lieutenant Bell's position at all times. She seemed to know he had a way to cast his vision ahead and had told him that she expected him to need it. Third, he had until sundown to catch her, after that, they would return to headquarters. Smiling, she had mentioned that catching her meant an early end to their activities, a reward that Edwin only now began to appreciate fully.

Before they'd set off that morning, she had given him a word of advice: the uniform was the key. Learning and exploiting its purpose would give him the edge he needed to succeed.

Hours later, Edwin crashed along a wooded pathway, his legs leaden and his lungs on fire. Nearly a mile beyond him, Lieutenant Bell jogged along a sunny road, whistling as she did so; he could hear the melody through his scout. How she was able to cover such terrain in so short a time and still have the breath to whistle was beyond his comprehension. It was becoming clear to Edwin that he would not catch her this way, so he turned his thoughts back to the puzzle of the uniform. What was it supposed to do?

Puzzling out its purpose would have been easier in a quiet room where he could leisurely explore its features and experiment with them, but instead he had to do it on the move. He belatedly wished that he'd checked it out earlier, on his own, but such dreams were futile. The fact was that beyond his first inspection of his new wardrobe, he'd never thought to do so. Plus, the pale blue uniform was rather unattractive.

His focus on the circuitry and odd structures in the fabric took his attention from the trail, and his foot caught a root, nearly sending him to the ground. He blindly grasped a low lying branch and regained his balance, managing to keep moving. Obviously, he could not afford to lose track of his surroundings, nor could he avoid devoting considerable attention to unraveling the mystery of the jumpsuit.

He pondered the dilemma as he followed the trail that Lieutenant Bell had blazed before him, slowing his place to an easy jog when he finally accepted that he would not catch her by speed alone. Rather than fall into a vision at the expense of spatial awareness, Edwin decided to think through the possibilities logically, beginning with what he already knew.

One, he knew that the uniform had a special purpose, like the camo suit he'd already mastered. The presence of circuitry confirmed it, supported by the Lieutenant having told him it was the key to the exercise. Two, he considered the color of the uniform, again in comparison to the camo suit. It was a pale blue, like the sky on a winter day, but mottled over with variations of blue and white. The pattern was similar to that of the camo suit, which led Edwin to the conclusion that camouflage was still a feature, but the environment to be blended into would be blue or white.

Dodging a fallen trunk and ducking a low branch, Edwin considered the idea for a moment before moving on to the third thing he knew, that the uniform was incredibly thick and warm, evidenced by his current misery. The fabric was padded and quilted, as if designed for wear in incredibly cold terrain, but it didn't seem waterproof so he checked water off the possible environments. He considered the color and warmth together and came up with two theories: snowy or icy land operations or high altitude operations.

The trek through the woods didn't seem to have anything to do with either, but of the two options, high altitude seemed the most likely. Plus, he couldn't think of anything that could benefit snowy weather operations that could also be of use catching his elusive quarry. That left high altitude environments,